Most people aren’t ready for a wildfire, but there are steps you can take to reduce the risk. Maintain an adequate defensible space around your home and protect your home using fire resistant building materials. “Defensible space” is a buffer around your home that you can create by removing dead plants, grass and
The sun is out, the air is cool, flowers are blooming – that means it’s time for a little spring cleaning. After the winter we just had, it’s a good idea to do some preventive cleaning and maintenance to help maintain your home and property the rest of the year.
We all live and work in buildings with smoke detectors, but Californians haven’t adopted innovative new technology: water detection devices that warn about water damage from leaks or pipes. Western homes are much more likely to be damaged by water than by fire, but only a fraction have installed devices that
Last year, on November 8 and 9, 2018, California’s Acting Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in California counties where numerous wildfires began that month and continue to impact the state. On November 14, 2018, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones declared an emergency situation in connection with those wildfires.
Wildfires devastated California last year, causing fatalities and injuries, destroying nearly 10,000 structures, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. As the number of wildfires increasing in California, obtaining fire insurance becomes more difficult for homeowners. Insurance companies aren’t renewing policies for customers in high risk areas. Those that can find
VBI Blog Andrea Romo Winter is coming, and that means more risk for homeowners. If you live in Northern California or the Sierra Nevada, you already know that snow, water, ice, even the cold weather alone can cause property damage. What you may not know is that some of that damage
Wherever in the western United States your home is located, it’s likely to be in a flood zone. That’s because flood zones are everywhere. In fact, almost 41 million Americans live in flood zones, according to a study published in the Environmental Research Letter. In 2017 alone the National Flood Insurance
Water damage is the second-most filed claim by homeowners and renters every year, but few people really know how to keep water where it belongs – in your pipes and in your water heater – and not soaking your floors or dripping through your ceilings. Water may be a “necessity of
The National Fire Protection Association estimates that 70% of fires in multifamily dwellings are the result of tenants’ negligence. Many landlords don’t know that a lease can require tenants to obtain and maintain renters insurance – and doing so benefits everyone involved. Most tenants assume that the landlord’s insurance policy covers renters’
As sure as the sun rises in the morning and every day ends with a “y”, sooner or later parents will add their teenage children to the family auto insurance policy. It can be a challenging time, but it doesn’t have to be. Parents may be confident about their teen’s