homeowners insurance News

Judge Agrees to Ask State Supreme Court About Barriers to $4B Hawaii Wildfire Settlement

The Hawaii Supreme Court will be asked to weigh in on an issue that threatens to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires. Judge Peter Cahill on Maui agreed to ask the state high court questions …

Western States Top Wildfire Risk Scores in New Analysis

California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Arizona are the states most at risk for wildfires, earning an “F” rating, according to a new analysis by Guidewire detailing wildfire risk in the U.S. at local, state, and national levels. Guidewire’s HazardHub data …

Robots Are Starting Fires in California — and That’s a Good Thing

Cody Chiverton has spent the past decade lighting fires. As a former firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, he participated in dozens of prescribed burns across the American West, in which fire-prevention teams would carry drip torches to ignite dry …

Americans Shop Around for Insurance More Than Ever as Costs Soar

Americans are seeking to change their insurance coverage more frequently than in the past, after a surge in premiums that’s squeezed household budgets, a new industry report shows. For car insurance, so-called policy shopping rates — essentially the share of …

Atlantic Hurricane Season Could Intensify in Coming Weeks, Meteorologists Say

AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the Atlantic hurricane season could intensify in the coming weeks as less wind shear and less dry air create conducive conditions for storm development. AccuWeather is forecasting six to 10 named storms to form in …

Wildfire Risk Harms California Home Values, San Francisco Fed Study Finds

California’s wildfires are weighing on home prices more than in the past, and insurance availability does little to help in areas considered to be at higher risk, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study. “Our results suggest …

Verisk: Reconstruction Costs in U.S. Rose 5.2% from Last Year

Total reconstruction costs in the U.S. rose by 5.2% from July 2023 to July 2024. That’s a large increase from the cost growth from July 2022 to July 2023 (4.0%) and over the cost growth in the second quarter (1.6%), …

Tropical Storm Ernesto Drenches Puerto Rico on Path North

About 375,000 homes and businesses were in the dark in Puerto Rico after Tropical Storm Ernesto brushed past early Wednesday, pounding the island with torrential rain and winds. The storm is likely to become a hurricane in the coming hours …

Report: 2.6M Homes with a Cost of $1.3 Trillion at Moderate to Very High Risk of Wildfire

More than 2.6 million homes across 14 states with a total reconstruction cost of $1.3 trillion are at moderate to very high risk of wildfire damage during the 2024 wildfire season, a new report shows. The 2024 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk …

Hurricane Debby’s Florida Claims Already Near 12,000

The number of Florida claims from Hurricane Debby, filed within five days of the storm, already is almost half of the the number of claims filed in Hurricane Idalia in a three-month period. Debby claims by Friday had reached more …