Wildcat Firewise Community

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CRUCIAL EDUCATIONAL TOPICS

INSURANCE UPDATES:

INSURANCE CANCELLATION WEBINARS (see below) & NEW ARTICLES! 7-30-24 California insurance: Map shows areas hardest hit by non-renewals: INSURANCE UPDATES:

https://apple.news/A9kj7AeWtSOO6TANcjph_tw⁠

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Is this the solution to California's soaring insurance prices due to wildfire risk? Read in Los Angeles Times:

https://apple.news/Ava8hBCyFT2Gq3C-dlmFpYg⁠

The insurance industry will have the ability to use wildfire models that make made policies hard to get and afford.

Having trouble finding home insurance in California? Try a nontraditional route:

https://apple.news/A5-4rnQLjQ2eA7aRH0ZyK3w⁠

SF Chronicle Guide to Navigating the Insurance Crisis. There is one aspect in finding a new policy that you may not be aware of yet: the difference between an “admitted” (or “licensed” insurer) and non-admitted insurers. “Admitted” insurers are regulated by the California Department of Insurance, which oversees how these companies set their prices and non-renew customers.

PLEASE LET US KNOW! if you have been cancelled or found a new policy. Which company cancelled you and for what reason and did you get new coverage and with what company. Email

wildcat.firewise@outlook.com⁠

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LINKS TO 3 RECENT OUTSTANDING INSURANCE WEBINARS

1) Recorded webinar from experts about emergency prep and insurance crisis in California. Click to view.
`https://youtu.be/0MUh16czYGk`⁠

2) Insurance Webinar from United Policy Holders
`FINAL-Home-Insurance-Shopping-Help-Webinar-6-11-2024.pdf (uphelp.org)`⁠
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3) *** In depth insurance webinar: There is a YouTube link to a great (but long) presentation that took place on May 23, 2024, with lots of crucial information: See additional links below.

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California FAIR Plan⁠

– Phil Irwin

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United Policy Holders⁠

– Amy Bach A non-profit whose mission is to be a trustworthy and useful information resource and a respected voice for consumers of all types of insurance.

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Preparing Property for Wildfire⁠

– Colin Arnold Tips on preparing property for wildfire

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California Department of Insurance⁠

– Julia Juarez Call for help: 800-927-4357

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Safer from Wildfires⁠

lists wildfire mitigation actions for insurance discounts

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Consumer Watchdog⁠

– Carmen Balber Advocates for consumers on insurance.

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Susman Insurance Agency⁠

– Karl Susman

State insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on:

SustainableInsuranceStrategy (ca.gov)⁠

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Top Ten Tips for Finding Residential Ins (ca.gov)⁠

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HPS (ca.gov)⁠

INSURANCE COMPARISON TOOL FORM!

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HPS 2 (ca.gov)⁠

PREMIUM QUOTE

Sampling of recent press coverage: April 2024

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California insurance crisis: 2 more insurers withdraw from state (sfchronicle.com)⁠

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State Farm to follow other insurance carriers ‘out the door’ in California – Orange County Register (ocregister.com)⁠

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https://www.ocregister.com/2024/03/27/state-farm-to-follow-other-insurance-carriers-out-the-door-in-california/⁠

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https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/what-to-do-if-your-california-homeowners-insurance-company-drops-you/?utm_source=article_gift&utm_medium=email&ac=YXJ0aWNsZS1zaGFyZQ==&ah=10eAOmvbjPwM⁠

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RESIDENTIAL INSURANCE CONTACT LIST

Residential Insurance Contact List (ca.gov)⁠

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Updated Home Insurance Shopping Tips (2023) - United Policyholders (uphelp.org)⁠

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RECENT PRESS COVERAGE OF CALIFORNIA HOME INSURANCE ISSUES, CANCELLATIONS, ETC.

JANUARY 2024

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California fire insurance: FAIR Plan going through growing pains - CalMatters⁠

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Insurance Crisis: Californians Could Benefit From New Bill (sfstandard.com)⁠

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California Housing Costs Likely to Surge as Insurance Firms Retreat (sfstandard.com)⁠

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Insurers Currently Offering Discounts (ca.gov)⁠

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Firewise Insurance Discounts | NFPA⁠

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HAS YOUR INSURANCE BEEN CANCELLED?

HAVE YOU RECENTLY OBTAINED NEW HOME AND FIRE INSURANCE?

Also: Do you know a good insurance agent you can recommend to others?

Some of the information below was posted in the fall of 2023 and may be out of date. USAA: At this point, it appears that USAA group companies are likely to award discount for Firewise Communities, but that has not been confirmed by a local policy holder yet. Also they may not be writing new policies!

State Farms provided a discount, but they will not be offering any new fire policies in CA, and we can speculate that they will drop existing policies, as some other companies have done – Travelers and Allstate.

- Mercury presumably will provide discount, that includes Cal Auto Insurance; but we have not had that confirmed by a local policy holder yet. Same for California FAIR plan.

- Amica has not cancelled policies yet for the several of us who insure through them, but they do not offer a discount for Firewise Community membership.

- Kemper has cancelled a policy locally, claiming a high AON wildfire score.

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—Based on the website of the CA Insurance Commissioner, the following insurance companies may grant a discount for living in a Firewise Community, depending on the property characteristics and how much fire hardening has been completed.

1) Allstate; 2) American Modern Home; 3) ASI Select (INCLUDES MERCURY, PROGRESIVE AND ALIVE INSURERS); 4) California Automobile Insurance; 5) Crestbrook; 6) CSAA; Falls Lake; 7) Occidental Fire and Casualty of North Carolina; 8) State Farm; 9) California FAIR PLAN; 10) USAA GROUP (NOTE) USAA Includes 4 companies that may give discounts: Garrison, United Services, USAA Casualty and USA Indemnity);

In addition, as of May 2023, State Farm Insurance will no longer write policies in California but have not yet said if they will cancel current policies or give a discount for Firewise Communities.

Insurers currently Offering Discounts (From California State Insurance Commission)

INSURANCE DISCOUNTS IN CALIFORNIA FOR FIREWISE COMMUNITY MEMBERS: Through a new set of rules dubbed

Safer from Wildfires⁠

, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has required insurance companies doing business in the state to provide discounts for residential property insurance when policyholders reduce their wildfire risks:

Firewise Insurance Discounts | NFPA⁠

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Insurers Currently Offering Discounts (ca.gov)⁠

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Residential Property Insurance Companies Currently Offering Discounts for Fire Hardened Homes and/or Communities: The number of residential property insurance companies offering insurance discounts for fire-hardened homes and communities has increased since Commissioner Lara took office in 2019. Several companies offer both community-wide discounts (for example, a home in a Firewise or a Shelter-In-Place community) and home-specific discounts (for example, maintaining defensible space or home-safety measures against wind-blown embers). In some cases, these discounts can be combined. Because discounts and eligibility differ by company, we urge you to contact the insurance company directly to find out if your property qualifies.

State Insurance Commission document links:

1) Companies offering insurance discounts for members of a approved Firewise Community (including our own Wildcat Firewise Community:

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https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/03-res/Insurers-Currently-Offering-Discounts.cfm⁠

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PAST EVENTS: Kensington Library-July 9th from 6-7:30 PM: Wildfire Awareness & Prep Panel. Presenters include Mary Beth Bykowsky (State Dept of Insurance); Michelle Rinehart from (CC County Fire Protection). Johnny Valenzuela (Kensington Fire Protection District and Alan Siegel (Wildcat Firewise Community). Includes a free emergency kit and strategies to apply for and receive support for projects linked to wildfire.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER WORKSHOP: Saturday, July 13 - Check Your Fire Extinguishers, 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m. @ 139 Purdue Ave. If you last evaluated or replaced your fire extinguisher at our 2018 event, it is probably time to do a re-check to ensure their readiness for use. See below for the price schedule and a longer description from Best Fire Equipment. RSVP to Kay@blonz.com

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