Latest Homeowners Headlines
All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Fire Safety Rule Citations Lag During Severe Drought
Jan 4 2016 // Amid the most destructive wildfire season in more than a decade, California’s firefighting agency amped up its warnings to thousands of property owners who weren’t doing enough to protect their homes by...
Lawsuits Filed Against South Carolina Homeowner Who Killed Intruder
Dec 31 2015 // Two lawsuits have been filed by the mother of a man who was fatally shot by an Anderson, South Carolina, homeowner who said someone was trying to break into his house. The Anderson Independent-Mail reports Jo Pickens,...
Mass. Consumer Comments Highlight Concerns Over Home Insurance Rates
Dec 30 2015 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance recently published on its website written public comments that were received in conjunction with the Division’s informational hearings on the Massachusetts home insurance...
Newtown Victims’ Families to Split $1.5M From Homeowner’s Insurance
Dec 28 2015 // The families of more than a dozen victims of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, will split $1.5 million under recently finalized settlements of lawsuits against the gunman’s mother’s estate. A...
N.J. Legislators Approve Bill Preventing Foreclosures for Sandy Victims
Dec 21 2015 // A bill heading to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s desk would prevent mortgage foreclosure for New Jersey homeowners whose houses were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The bill, which passed the Legislature on Dec. 17,...
Indiana High Court Allows Negligence Claim Against Agent
Dec 21 2015 // Indiana’s high court has confirmed a lower court’s summary judgment favoring a property insurer that denied a homeowner’s claim after discovering that misleading information about the condition of the...
Assurant to Pay Restitution to Massachusetts Homeowners
Dec 21 2015 // The largest force-placed insurer in Massachusetts has agreed to provide refunds to homeowners to settle allegations that it improperly charged for force-placed insurance policies, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura...
Massachusetts Rejects Mapfre’s Ice-Dam Deductible Request
Dec 17 2015 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance recently denied a request by Mapfre USA Corp. to add an ice-dam deductible to some homeowners policyholders who previously had multiple ice-dam claims. Mapfre USA Corp., the largest...
Vermont Court Lets Home Insurer Off the Hook in Pesticide Lawsuit
Dec 17 2015 // A Vermont family who said their home was made unlivable by an exterminator who used a banned pesticide has had their lawsuit against an insurance company overturned. Neil and Patricia Whitney said a foster child brought...
Indiana High Court Allows Negligence Claim Against Agent
Dec 4 2015 // Indiana’s high court has confirmed a lower court’s summary judgment favoring a property insurer that denied a homeowner’s claim after discovering that misleading information about the condition of the...
Helping Independent Agents Compete and Evolve
Dec 3 2015 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Even with advancements in the direct-to-consumer channel, independent agents (IAs) continue to be a dominate distribution channel for property & casualty...
Mass. AG Argues Mapfre, Safety Won Excessive Home Insurance Rate Hikes
Dec 3 2015 // Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey says two of the state’s largest homeowners’ insurance companies won excessive and unwarranted rate increases of about 9 percent by taking advantage of last...
N.Y. Agency Advises Homeowners to Check Heating Oil Tanks to Prevent Leaks
Dec 1 2015 // The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is calling on homeowners who have oil furnaces to inspect their heating oil tanks for leaks that could lead to expensive cleanups. The agency says more than 2 million...
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Shedding More Policies
Nov 30 2015 // Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon reported that three insurance companies new to Louisiana are participating in the latest round of depopulation of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Citizens is the state’s property...
Penn. Officials Remind Homeowners to Make Safety a Priority This Thanksgiving
Nov 25 2015 // Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner Tim Solobay and Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller are reminding Pennsylvanians to celebrate Thanksgiving safely. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the average number of home fires...
Kentucky Governor Orders Nursing Homes to Perform National Background Checks
Nov 25 2015 // Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has ordered nursing homes and other health care providers to run national background checks on all new employees or risk losing their license to operate in the state. Beshear signed the...
Questions Arise as More Mass. Residents List Their Homes on Lodging Sites
Nov 24 2015 // Marcus Ohanesian and Katie O’Connor’s apartment in Worcester, Massachusetts, is in a “family-friendly neighborhood central to the middle of Worcester” and a short walk to excellent restaurants and...
Mass. AG Healey: Insurer Improperly Charged Thousands of Homeowners
Nov 24 2015 // The largest force-placed insurance company in Massachusetts has agreed to provide refunds to homeowners to settle allegations that it improperly charged for force-placed insurance policies, Massachusetts Attorney General...
Bettendorf, Iowa, Seeks Funds for Buyout of Homes in Flood Zones
Nov 19 2015 // Bettendorf, Iowa, officials are seeking federal funding that would allow the city to buy and demolish homes in flood zones. The Quad-City Times reports Bettendorf City Planner John Soenksen presented the plan to apply for...
Tornadoes in North Texas Damage Homes, Businesses
Nov 18 2015 // Multiple tornadoes hit North Texas late on Nov. 16 and early on Nov. 17, causing property damage. The National Weather Service says at least five tornadoes touched down in the Pampa, Texas, area Monday night. Forecasters...
