homeowners insurance News

Fraud Ringleader in Washington Sentenced, Ordered to Pay $7.1M in Restitution

A Washington man has been sentenced to a dozen years in prison and ordered to pay $7.1 million for leading a fraud scheme that involved staged collisions. A U.S. District Judge sentenced William Oldham Mize to 144 months in federal …

Arizona DOI Forms Council to Address Availability and Affordability in Wildland

Arizona Department of Insurance Director Barbara D. Richardson has created a Resiliency and Mitigation Council that plans to examine the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance in forested and wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas of Arizona. Based on the work of …

Californians Pay Billions for Power Companies’ Wildfire Prevention Efforts. Are They Cost-Effective?

Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to forget the risk that we …

Safer Buildings Vs More Housing: How New Building Codes May Impact Hawaii

A month after wildfires ravaged Maui in August 2023, Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation to postpone the adoption of any new building codes that might exacerbate a housing shortage that had just gotten worse. The governor’s office is …

California Department of Insurance Moves Modeling Regulation Proposal Forward

The California Department of Insurance has submitted its final wildfire catastrophe modeling regulation to the Office of Administrative Law for approval. Th regulation is intended to strengthen the state’s insurance law, Proposition 103, by establishing coverage commitments from insurance companies …

Active Volcano Mauna Loa Showed Telltale Warning Signs Before Erupting in 2022

Scientists can’t know precisely when a volcano is about to erupt, but they can sometimes pick up telltale signs. That happened two years ago with the world’s largest active volcano. About two months before Mauna Loa spewed rivers of glowing …

Containment Increases on California Fire That Has Destroyed 168 Structures

Firefighters battled strong winds driving a fast-moving Southern California wildfire that forced the evacuations of thousands of people and destroyed at least 168 structures. Containment of the Mountain Fire in Ventura County increased to 48%. The fire has now burned …

California Commissioner: 1-Year Moratorium on Cancellations for Wildfire Victims

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 11,000 policyholders affected by the Shelly Fire located in Siskiyou County and the Bear Fire located in Sierra County. …

Wind-Driven Southern California Blaze Has Destroyed at Least 132 Structures

A Southern California wildfire that was driven by high winds has destroyed at least 132 structures and forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate. The fire in Ventura County has burned 20,596 acres and is 7% contained. The Mountain Fire, …

Hawaiian Electric Finalizes $2 Billion Maui Fire Settlement

Hawaiian Electric Industries formalized a $2 billion agreement to settle damage claims from a wildfire that razed the historic town of Lahaina and killed more than 100 people. The utility-owner had reached a tentative agreement in August in which it, …