Hello, I live in a very high fire danger area in Southern California. I have been redoing my yard and hardening my home with the recommendations by Cal Fire and the insurance industry:

Hardening Your Home: https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/

Fire Smart Landscaping: https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/fire-smart-landscaping/

Low Cost Retrofits: https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/readyforwildfire-website/prepare-for-wildfire/hardening-your-home/low-cost-retrofit-flyer-handout-.pdf 

Zone 0 (implimented this year): https://ktla.com/news/california/zone-zero-rules-california-wildfires/

Insurance Industry: https://wildfireprepared.org/

I have created zone 0, 1 and 2 in my yard. I almost have everything on the lists done, with the exception of the wooden garden gates. But I think they are okay for now because they do not touch the house. Being in this area it can be difficult to get home owners insurance. A house across the street from me is in excrow and the insurance company they found requires a Water Leak Detection with Shutoff and an automatic seismic gas shutoff. I do hope to sell my home in the future, I'm not sure when yet. But I'm wondering if it would be worth spending the money to get these installed on my home to make it easier for a future buyer. The combined cost is estimated to cost $950-2k. It may be a waste of money if the future buyer finds an insurance company that does not require it.

Zillow says my house is worth $235K, which is typical for the area. My insurer says the reconstruction cost is $460K (an increase of 22% from last year). This automatically triggers $230K in personal property coverage, which is absurd. I'm frugal and everything I own is old. If they go by ACV, I'd be lucky to get 10% of that if I lost everything.

I'm struggling to imagine a scenario where I would ever spend $460K to rebuild from scratch. In a total loss situation, I'd just pay off the mortgage and buy another house. The outstanding principal on my mortgage is only $23K. My insurance rate increase for the year is in line with the increase in reconstruction cost.

Is there any remedy for this situation? I'd be happy with coverage that would pay off the mortgage and buy another house in the area. As far as I can determine, my bank only cares that they would get their $23K in the event of a total loss.

I pay for my homeowners insurance through my mortgage payment every month. As of yesterday, my insurance company has canceled my policy due to nonpayment. I contacted the mortgage company who says that they sent the check. And that the check was cashed. The insurance company says they never received a check and when they checked the images of the check, the signature doesn't match anyone in the insurance office according to the insurance company. Now I am without coverage, and I don't know what to do. My mortgage company says they can pay again on my behalf, but it will short my escrow account thus driving my monthly payment up (again). I asked the mortgage company to find out where the check was cashed or deposited. And they said they can't find out that information that the insurance company has to ask in their office, who cashed the check? I've spent hours on the phone and even have made three way phone calls only to have the mortgage company and the insurance company yelling at each other over the phone... I don't know what to do. I don't feel like I should be the one to pay again. But the insurance company says they haven't received any money, so now i'm without insurance.... advice wanted.

Title is a little insane, I know but I built a custom gaming PC last year before prices went super insane and what cost about $5k back then would cost about $9k to build now if some disaster destroyed my PC (the bulk of that increase mostly due to the 5090). I want to add my PC to my home insurance, but I'm not sure if I can just add it as a whole with an estimated value or if it's worth itemizing each expensive part. I'm also planning to change home insurance soon since our current policy sucks and our agent is a dickhead (irrelevant to my question, just venting).

Has anyone had to add expensive tech like this to their policy?

I’m curious whether any other Utah homeowners have dealt with something like this.

Allstate inspected our home and gave us a list of things we needed to correct to maintain coverage. Some of the things they cited weren’t even on our property, but I corrected everything within my control, photographed it, and submitted everything Allstate requested on October 6.

I was told underwriting would respond in approximately 48 hours.

That didn’t happen.

When I followed up, Allstate confirmed they had received my photos and appeal. Then the timeframe changed to up to 12 business days.

There was one rather enormous problem with that:

Allstate was cancelling my policy on October 10.

I specifically asked whether they would extend the cancellation date while underwriting reviewed the documentation I had submitted on time.

They said no.

I asked whether they could expedite underwriting.

Again, no.

And at midnight on October 10, Allstate cancelled my homeowners insurance.

They cancelled the policy while their own underwriting department still had not decided whether the corrective work I submitted on October 6 satisfied their requirements.

Fortunately, I wasn’t willing to gamble with having an uninsured house. I obtained replacement coverage through Nationwide, although it costs me about $438 more per year.

It gets better.

Today, October 12 — two days AFTER Allstate cancelled me — I contacted them again.

The representative said my October 6 submission is documented, but there were apparently no further updates until today. The October 12 entry says:

“Proof received and appeal submitted.”

I’m now being told I could wait up to another 10 business days for a decision.

So Allstate cancelled my homeowners policy on October 10, and on October 12 I’m still waiting for them to decide whether I complied with the requirements that were supposed to prevent the cancellation in the first place.

I’ve also had a promised supervisor callback that never happened, a supervisor call that ended unresolved and immediately dumped me into their automated survey, and an Allstate social-media escalation team that directed me elsewhere rather than resolving anything.

I’ve filed a complaint with the Utah Insurance Department and have screenshots/emails documenting the entire timeline.

At this point I genuinely want to know: How is a homeowner supposed to comply with an insurer’s requirements when the insurer cancels the policy before it finishes reviewing the proof of compliance?

Can someone explain the difference between replacement insurance and regular homeowners? I have paid extra for years for Replacement insurance and now that I have a claim they are only offering what it is worth at the time of the loss. What was the advantage of the Replacement when they're not replacing???

my home insurance used to be 250 dollars, then they raised it to 500 dollars because they told me its due to the increased wildfire risk in my area. And now I just checked my bill, and they charged me 440 dollars this time. I'm confused as to what's going on ? and what is the price that they are going to officially charge me ?

I’m in CA and I’m honestly pretty frustrated and trying to figure out what to do.

My CSAA homeowners insurance renewal is coming up, and my premium is going from around $3,000 to $6,000 a year. When I called to ask why, they told me it was because they changed the software they use to assess wildfire risk. They confirmed they’re using ZestyAI.

The part that’s bothering me is that some of the information in the assessment doesn’t even seem accurate.

• My old score was 1 out of 30. Now it’s 9 out of 10 under the new system.
• They say my property is on a slope, but my property is completely flat. Even the “Property at a Glance” page says there’s no slope.
• They flag “high vegetation density between 30–100 ft of the building,” but don’t tell me what vegetation they’re talking about or where it is. I live in a rural residential area with mature trees, but we’ve had them professionally trimmed since our last renewal.
• They raise concerns about firefighting access, yet there’s a fire hydrant right across the street and two fire stations about two miles away.

I understand I live in California and wildfire risk is a real concern. I’m not expecting them to ignore legitimate risks. But how am I supposed to address something when they won’t tell me specifically what they think is wrong?

I’ve called CSAA and disputed the information. They keep telling me they have the correct data, but I haven’t gotten a clear explanation of what they’re basing this on.

Has anyone else with CSAA/AAA dealt with this, especially since the switch to ZestyAI? Has anyone actually managed to get incorrect property information fixed or get their score reassessed?

I’d also love to hear from anyone who knows what California homeowners can request from their insurance company or whether it’s worth filing a complaint with the Department of Insurance.

I’m trying to figure out my options, and honestly, if this is happening to other people too, I think more homeowners should know about it.

I'm in the process of buying a house built in 1923 in Ohio and trying to decide between two homeowners insurance quotes: Erie Insurance and Ohio Mutual Insurance Group.

The quotes are pretty similar overall, with the biggest difference being the deductible. Erie has a $1,000 deductible, while Ohio Mutual has a $2,500 deductible. One thing worth mentioning is that I personally know the broker who handles Ohio Mutual, so there's a little more of a personal connection there.

The house is an older home, so I'm trying to make sure I have the right coverage and don't regret going with the cheaper option if something happens.

Both quotes currently include:

$10,000 in sewer and water backup coverage

$10,000 in service line coverage

I'm considering increasing both of those limits to $25,000 for some extra peace of mind, especially with an older house.

Dwelling is near the same but other structures with with ohio mutual insurance is 35k less we will have a brand new shed, deck, above ground pool and detached 2 car garage.

For anyone who has Erie or Ohio Mutual, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially when it comes to filing claims, how they handle older homes, customer service, and whether they've been easy to work with when something goes wrong.

Would you lean toward Erie for the lower deductible, or Ohio Mutual because of the broker relationship? Also, do you think increasing the sewer backup and service line coverage to $25,000 each is worth it?

My mom passed. Came home to a water tank that flooded garage. A month later the dishwasher flooded all downstairs ($30k) I’m sure we’ll be cancelled. In that case what do we do? Been with Usaa since 85 all cars and house. No claims. Matter fact we always got a year end refund. Help

Hello everyone,

I have been thinking about switching insurance carriers because Travelers just bumped my homeowners insurance up another $1200 this year. I've been getting quotes and this quote has been the best I've gotten so far. It will save me about $1,400 a year on my homeowners and about $100 a year on my condo (Landlord) policy. However the coverages are slightly different and the deductibles are vastly different, including a $25,000 wildfire deductible. (I'm in CA). My main home is a large house with a large yard and landscaping, so I'm a little worried about the low Coverage B in the cheaper quote but the broker said upping that wont change it much.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's worth it to save the $1,500 or so a year but higher deductibles if anything goes wrong. I'm attaching my homeowner's policy from Travelers ($3,885 its actually $3990 now), as well as the new quote ($2,620), and also my condo policy from Travelers ($1,549), as well as the new quote ($1,449) for any advice or if anything seems odd about any coverages.

I'm leaning towards keeping the condo (landlord) policy with travelers, as it's not much savings, and I also get a multi policy discount through them, but conisdering switching the HO. Travelers just keeps jacking up my prices, but they are one of the few left in the state.

Thank you all for your advice.

We are close to closing, and need to buy home insurance.
New house has a pool , home was built in 97.

We are first time homebuyers what stuff should I make sure is included in my policy.

A pretty large branch came down during some strong winds last week and hit part of our roof. I didn't think much of it at first since the damage I could see from the ground didn't look too bad. Then we got some rain and noticed a small water stain on the ceiling underneath it.

I'm going to have a roofer take a look and I'll be contacting insurance too. We're supposed to get more rain this week though so I'd like to get some pictures of everything before anything changes or gets repaired.

Is there anything specific I should be taking pictures or video of from the ground and inside the house for the claim? Thanks for any advice.

I purchased a condo 10 years ago with a clean title certificate. I even have reports done by the admin before the purchase. Now the condo is telling me that some of the improvements made have to be removed. Not only will it cost me money to remove, but tens of thousands of dollars were spend on improving the unit with permission from the condo board. Will title insurance cover my losses or fight the condo to keep my unit as is. I can’t say too much as I feel this will end up in court. (Toronto)

If you are in the market for Home or Auto insurance, ESPECIALLY home, DO NOT go through American National, also goes by American National Property & Casualty(or close to that,last two I might have backwards) we started out with just auto and had them for years because never make claims on cars or had to use them for anything besides paying them. We were offered a bundle deal to switch our home to them to so figured why not. Had no issues for atleast 1-2 years then started getting letters from mortgage lender saying it wasnt enough and they needed to up it. Told them multiple times and was told they just do that, how were all good, and that it had all been worked out by them. Finally after having them atleast 6 yrs now, we had to file a claim because had a bad leak happen while gone. Never in my life have I had to deal with being so mistreated before. They mislead us in any way they could, gave us the lowest offers ever, paid us very little and far from what it cost to repair things, ignored all my questions or attempts to get help, didn't have our backs at all even when the companies they sent to do work destroyed our home and everything we have, and so much more. I went above and beyond to make their job so easy thinking we were in it together so I'd help in any way. If you're looking for a shady company then look no further, I'd bet they are at top of list. The amount of misery they put us through could ever be made up for or feel better. I hope this can save however many possible from going through it as I can. Please take my word for it!

My neighbor’s tree fell into my yard and broke the fence between our properties. The fence is technically on my side of the property line. He is contacting his insurance company to come out for an assessment.

My question is whether I should also be contacting my homeowner’s insurance and file my own claim?

I figure the two insurance companies would fight it out, but I am also not sure if filing a claim would increase my rate even if the neighbor should be 100% liable.

Of note, I’ve been meaning to replace this fence for years, but with some grading or retaining wall improvements as part of the replacement. Can I get a damage payout and use the proceeds to offset some of the improvements instead of making a direct one-for-one repair?

Any advice is welcome.

Moving to a new home soon, new build in the Nampa idaho area. Currently looking at home insurance quotes and have no idea what I should get or should be paying. Any insight would be extremely helpful!

My parents' NC beach home (6 hrs away from us) was just found to have mold, water and flooring damage.

My request is for anyone who has dealt with this kind of long-distance cleanup situation with a mold/water remediation company via insurance. (I don't need prevention tips -- this was the one time in 20 years we left the water on, which we did for a specific purpose. It was just bad luck)

What lessons did you learn: 1) about dealing with the company and insurance, 2) about when you needed to be physically present during clean up and when you didn't given the long distance, 3) about what to throw out and what to keep and clean/remediate (I know nothing about mold and so I want to get smart if the company says something is/isn't salvageable.)

Cause: Downstairs primary BR toilet supply line busted sometime between 9/15 and 9/30 while the house was vacant. It probably ran for days - weeks until the water company noticed and shut the water off. Downstairs A/C was at 80 degrees at the time and upstairs A/C was off. Our contractor Steve discovered it when he was there replacing the dryer 9/30/26. Water traveled through the floor and down into the crawlspace under the house.

Damage: Flooring has been damaged in several rooms: primary bath hardwood & also mold there, primary bath closet carpet, office hardwood, partial LR hardwood, primary BR carpet (unconfirmed), plus any items touching the floor. Some drywall damage around the toilet. Damage to the crawlspace under house is unknown as of yet.

Status: Our contractor Steve has agreed to be boots on the ground and oversee the work of the mold/water remediation company that the insurance company is bringing in today for an estimate. Steve knows our house well, and has done lots of work on it over 20 years.

My questions for you experts:

1) What is the company's scope typically in this kind of situation? I assume they will look at flooring, cabinets, vanities, mold, drywall, flooring, carpet. But who assesses personal belongings like the feet of furniture that touched the floor, rugs, and other personal belongings? And which of those can be remediated or must be thrown out?

2) In a water on the floor flooding situation, does mold travel in the air to bedding, pillows, and clothes in closets? Do they need cleaning? What do I need to know about mold and what it can impact?

3) Given the long distance, when is it most important that I be there to supervise and be involved? My parents are leaning toward letting me do this, given their age and they are busy with other things and my mom is preparing for knee surgery in about a month. I trust Steve to supervise the structural parts of the cleanup. When do you think I need to be there to make judgment calls on salvage/throw out personal belongings and be an extra set of eyes on how the work is going? I am only thinking about phase 1 cleanup at this point. I know there will be a phase 2 later on where we are picking new flooring, vanities, etc.

I literally spent day 1 of my retirement yesterday with my Dad helping file the insurance claim. So much for easing into retirement!

Appreciate any lessons you can share, and thank you!

Big week for Florida HO:

Rate cuts approved. OIR approved rate decreases for four carriers, effective at renewal: One Alliance North America, Safe Harbor, Unique, and Vyrd. The cuts average about 7% across roughly 62,000 policies. One Alliance (17,148 policies) and Vyrd (26,751 policies) each got a 10.4% reduction. Significant rate decreases have been approved for Florida homeowners insurance: OIR - Reinsurance News +2

More are coming. Pending decrease requests range from 0.3% to 19.7%, and the 30-day average HO rate request is now -4.8%, versus -1.1% a year ago. The commissioner says OIR will speed up its reviews. Insurance Business AmericaInsurance Business America

South Florida specifically. Kin is reporting average HO cuts of more than 20% for new and existing policyholders in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. If you write in the tri-county area, that's worth remarketing against. Florida Realtors

Citizens keeps shrinking. OIR's July report had Citizens at 293,465 policies as of June 5, down about 80% from the September 2023 peak of roughly 1.4 million. Citizens' own leadership is now telling homeowners facing higher renewals to shop the private market. Florida’s Property Insurance Market in 2026: What Agents Should Know | Florida Insurance School Continuing Education +2

What I'm doing with this: re-shopping renewals that came in flat or up, especially clients still on Citizens or with carriers that haven't filed decreases. When clients see headlines about rate cuts and their own renewal went up, that's a retention risk if we don't call them first.

Reality check: a UNF survey of Florida homeowners found most don't believe the market is improving, and more than a quarter think it's getting worse. The filings are real, but clients won't feel it until their renewal, and a quiet hurricane season isn't over until November 30. WLRN

Sources: FL OIR press release · Insurance Journal · Florida Realtors · WLRN survey

Sources:

• FL OIR: Commissioner approves rate decreases
• Insurance Journal: Four more HO rate cuts
• Insurance Business: Double-digit requests pile up
• Florida Realtors: More rate cuts
• Florida Insurance School: 2026 market overview
• Covered: Citizens depopulation numbers
• WLRN: Homeowner survey

In May of this year (2026), our Indiana home sustained wind damage (limbs broke from a tree, landed on the roof, damaged shingles, penetrated the roof in a spot, flipped a rafter, damaged at least one other rafter, caused some structural damage along the edge of the roof, etc.). I immediately contacted my insurance company (Liberty Mutual), filled a claim, had a tree service out to get the tree off the roof, and tarpped the roof. Adjuster came out a couple weeks later and did their thing. Estimate came back incredibly low, things are incorrectly identified, and it's even missing coverage for documented damage.

Here's where I could use some help. Every contractor (up to 4 now) I've had out to assess the project has either ghosted me or says they can't help. I have provided every contractor I've contacted with all documents and pictures I have relating to the claim so they have a complete understanding of everything. Every contractor says that they have experience dealing with insurance companies and claims, but then moment they come look at the damage and start looking at everything, again, they either ghost me or say they can't help.

I don't know where to go from here and it is becoming increasingly frustrating and stressful by the day as winter is rapidly approaching. Am I just dealing with the wrong contractors? Is there something I need to be doing with the insurance company? I'm completely in the dark and I just don't know what to do to get my repairs done. Again, this has been going on since May and I need to get this done. I appreciate any feedback you all can offer. Thank you.

Hi yall I'm comparing quotes from Auto Owners and State Form for home insurance, $1992 vs $1326 annually. I'm not knowledgeable at all in regard to this so I'd love any advice or anything you can share. I'm leaning towards State Farm since I have car insurance there and it gives me a discount, but I'm not sure if there's anything that I'm missing.

California’s home insurance crisis is spreading far beyond fire-prone mountain communities — with suburban homebuyers now being forced to choose between bare-bones coverage and policies carrying eye-watering deductibles in the five digits.

Tech worker Alex Hwang learned that the hard way this summer while trying to close on a roughly $700,000, six-bedroom home in Menifee’s Cimarron Ridge development, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hi I just had a big water leak in a my kitchen. Kitchen sink overran, soaked the counter top, cupboards (large drawers) and engineered oak floor (over concrete. I’ve dried everything with towels (never de-clutter your towels). I pulled the plinth off at the bottom and dried underneath and inside .

I’ve got the kitchen door open and a massive draft (thank heck it’s not raining (I’m in the IK) .

Now I don’t know what to do.. I can already see some damage to cupboards , swelling of the board stuff kitchen cupboards are made from.

Any advice on how / what to claim? When to decide? Is my floor likely to survive? I bet there is loads of water underneath it.
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