"I have helped hundreds of families buy homes. Last fall, one of them burned down. I am so grateful for the education from UP that helps me make sure all my clients are adequately protected from catastrophic loss."...
UP in the News
October 10, 2018
So many people living in the North Bay counties of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino had their lives changed one year ago. Our friends and neighbors in Lake County had endured an unprecedented firestorm two years earlier in their area; the October 2017 fires were a repeat of that, times four.
For me, dealing with disaster recovery had been a personal focus since 2008, when ABAG (Association of Bay Area...
As posted at: North Bay Business Journal
October 8, 2018
At a recent event for people who lost their homes in last year’s fires, a local yoga business owner led the room through a mediation exercise.
She led off by sharing that her childhood home had been destroyed in the fires, and then dimmed the lights for a short interval. It was a perfect contribution to the evening’s main purpose.
The audience was there to get answers to technical...
As posted at: North Bay Business Journal
October 8, 2018
On the anniversary of the North Bay Fires that burned thousands of homes to the ground in Santa Rosa, we are finding many homeowners will not have the cash to rebuild. Why? They were under-insured, they say, through no fault of their own.
A month after the fire we visited the Sherwood's home in Santa Rosa, the buildings were gone, the trees were blackened ash was everywhere.
We recently...
As posted at: ABC7 News
October 7, 2018
Consider the unfortunate plight of Laney Wall and Scott Rooks. They were married Sunday but remain unable to start building a new house to replace their Santa Rosa home that burned down in last October’s wildfire. The two are Air Force veterans who served in the Iraq War and are longtime home insurance policyholders of USAA, an insurer catering to military families.
When they bought their home in...
As posted at: The Press Democrat
October 4, 2018
More than two weeks after Hurricane Florence’s devastating crawl across the Carolinas and Virginia, many homeowners are assessing the damage and beginning to make repairs.
According to real estate data provider CoreLogic, the storm affected 624,000 homes, the vast majority unprotected by flood insurance. Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies do not cover damage from storm surges and...
As posted at: Magnify Money
October 3, 2018
Whether you stay with your current insurer or switch, you can lower your rate without sacrificing coverage.
Car insurance companies are falling all over themselves to grab your attention with clever TV ads, giving the impression that lowering your premium is as easy as picking up the phone. But when it comes to homeowners insurance? Crickets.
Yes, it's pretty quiet on the home insurance front....
As posted at: Kiplinger
October 3, 2018
Part of getting ready for a disaster means getting your financial house in order.
Thousands of people who lost homes in the 2017 California wildfires discovered too late that their insurance coverage had not kept up with the rising cost of lumber, labor and other rebuilding materials. Talk to your insurer to make sure you have enough coverage but, for a quick reality check, ask a local contractor...
As posted at: San Francisco Chronicle
September 28, 2018
As the first anniversary of the North Bay wildfires approaches, people who lost their homes in the natural disasters should take steps to ensure they do not lose the ability to sue their homeowner insurers if they think they have been treated unfairly, according to a consumer advocate and attorneys.
Deadlines for filing such a lawsuit against an agent, broker or insurance company can vary between...
As posted at: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat
September 27, 2018
Like anyone who has been affected by October 2017’s wildfires, physicians need ongoing support and assistance in rebuilding their lives. And they continue to receive it.
On Wednesday the Sonoma County Medical Association held the third in its ongoing series of fire-recovery programs and workshops aimed at providing area physicians with the timely information and resources they’ve asked for,...
As posted at: North Bay Business Journal
September 25, 2018
In many states, laws don’t require sellers to disclose that a property is in a flood or wildfire area, leaving homeowners with unexpected damage and losses
The house on Weber Hill Road is almost a year gone, but it still haunts Emilie Hayes. Thirteen years ago, when she and her husband Steve bought the Missouri property in a foreclosure sale, Hayes vaguely knew that it was in a 100-year...
As posted at: The Guardian