tell us about united policyholders when and why did you start it? guest: actually, the original history came from new york. i was working in the new york state legislature on behalf of the consumer protection board where i was the insurance analyst and hank greenberg came up to lobby for a whole slate of reforms that would have made it harder for people to sue insurance companies and there was no one saying is that a good idea. i said i could make myself useful so i got my law degree, came to campbell and met a whistle blower from state farm and felt they were not handling claims properly and we started to form a group and they had the oakland fire and how do you get through it. we built our road map to recovery and preparedness program and advocacy. so for three decades we have been providing information and a voice to people across the country and businesses that have bought insurance and want the straight scoop and be treated fairly. host: when were talking about those issues who are you working with? guest: right now in california it has been in

. >> and he began to volunteer for the nonprofit united policyholders, and now is a coordinator who's deployed to fire zones throughout the country without insurance can't recover, guiding many through the hardest moments of their lives, starting with what to do about your mortgage. >> we recommend that they call their mortgage company, and they ask them if they could please open an escrow account so that money from the dwelling portion of the insurance will be coming in. you'll sign it, you'll send it to your mortgage company. they will open up an escrow account for the amount that you owe on your mortgage, and they'll hold on to that and walk it through the rebuild process with you. that is their collateral on your home that's gone, leading many to find ways to hold off payments. i had a total loss. can i do a forbearance? and in the perfect world, what they'll say is absolutely. and they'll give you three months at a time. >> united policyholders says documenting the inside and outside of your home now before a fire is key, as well as after. for insurance claims, you can clearly co

chris: amy bach leads united policyholders, a san francisco nonprofit that helps consumers navigate insuranceues. bock agrees that homeowners desperately need more insurance choices, but some companies, like stand, that are picking up dropped policies are actually partnered with an out-of-state or non-admitted insurance company. amy: the non-admitteds have been a safety valve, but they should not be allowed to replace the admitted carriers, that's not healthy for the consumer. chris: bach noted that if an admitted california carrier goes belly-up, a state fund will cover you up to $1 million, but you get $0 from that fund if you're insured by a non-admitted, out-of-state carrier that fails. dan: the only way to do this is to look at the insurance model. chris: if successful, stand could apply to become admitted here. for now, it has a partner in montana, and with bay area data science, plus $30 million in backing, this team has designs on sending the insurance industry back to the drawing board. dan: fundamental changes like this actually require starting from scratch. chris: if you are shopp

tell us about united policyholders, when and why did you start it? amy:

. >> annie began to volunteer for the nonprofit united policyholders, and now is a coordinator who's deployed to fire zones throughout the country without insurance. can't recover, guiding many through the hardest moments of their lives, starting with what to do about your mortgage. >> we recommend that they call their mortgage company, and they ask them if they could please open an escrow account so that money from the dwelling portion of the insurance will be coming in. you'll sign it, you'll send it to your mortgage company. they will open up an escrow account for the amount that you owe on your mortgage, and they'll hold on to that and walk it through the rebuild process with you. that is their collateral on your home that's gone, leading many to find ways to hold off payments. i had a total loss. can i do a forbearance? and in the perfect world, what they'll say is absolutely. and they'll give you three months at a time. >> united policyholders says documenting the inside and outside of your home now before a fire is key, as well as after. >> for insurance claims, you can clearl

>> to which i say, amy bach, executive director for the united policyholders nonprofit.n. then thank you very much for talking with us. thank you. so if any of you are wondering if you can help californians, you sure can. just scan the qr code on your screen to find out how, and we'll show it again in the next hour of the broadcast. also later, we're going to show you what many california residents can't see a drive through some of the neighborhoods in lockdown of the neighborhoods in lockdown in the midst of the deadly mom where's my homework? mommy! hey hun - sometimes, you just need a moment. self-care has never been this easy. gummy vitamins from nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪♪ attention, the one on one you attention, the one on one you can't beat that. my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to st. jud

host: amy bach the executive director of united policyholders.an find out more on up p help.org. thank you for being. guest: it is my pressure. host: that is it for today's "washington journal." we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 pacific with another program. have a good saturday.

host: amy bach the executive director of united policyholders.an find out more on up p help.org. thank you for being. guest: it is my pressure. host: that is it for today's "washington journal." we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 pacific with another program. have a good saturday.

. >> reporter: amy bock, executive director of united policyholders, says she expects coverage challenges to continue in the wake of l.a. fires. she says it's too early to determine exactly how the fires will impact insurance across the state, but she doesn't think it will be good. >> it really depends on what the final count is of homes down because right now it's under 2,000 as far as officially reported, but a lot of people are projecting that it's going to be a lot more. the number will have a big effect. >> reporter: the state of california recently rolled out new regulations giving insurance companies new incentives to write more policies in the state, however, they're also being allowed to factor in the cost of climate change and wildfire risk that will drive prices higher. >> we'll see more rate increases and continued challenges for people who are trying to keep basic protection on their homes. >> reporter: sunita says time is of the essence for the state to come up with better laws regulating the industry. >> we'll continue to follow these devastating fires on air and online. fo

amy bach heads united policyholders, a nonprofit that's helped families with insurance since 1991. amy says your family blindly becomes underinsured when your policy auto renews each year, but doesn't keep pace with the realistic cost to rebuild your home. well, then, if your hse burns down and you don't have enough coverage, you're on the hook to pay the difference. check your policy now and do one math problem. look at the number under dwelling insurance, then divide it by your home's square footage. if that per square foot insurance per square foot number is somewhere in the $200 range, you're underinsured. amy says 300 to 400 is more realistic. ask a contractor to confirm. then ask your agent about getting more insurance, and you don't have to wait for your policy's renewal date. you can take action today if you have a nsumer battle for us to check out. please share your story. scan the qr code on your screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. very good information. thank you chris. all right. the lunar new year marks the year of the snake. get ready. and

. >> amy bach with united policyholders explains the california fair plan, the state's insurer of lastort, is only as strong as the number of admitted insurance companies we have doing business in the state. a number california has seen decline, with at least a dozen insurers pulling out or restricting new policies. >> there's no question there's going to be a lot of people who were impacted by this fire whose insurance falls short. >> for example, the california fair plan caps insurance payments for natural disasters at $3 million for residential policyholders. that price tag affects at least 33 bay area cities, where the average home value now exceeds $2 million. that's according to data from zillow. so what impact could this have on the housing market? >> with the cap being at $3 million, you're talking about a high percentage of homes not being able to get coverage up to a certain amount. that's going to drastically change how the market is going to be moving forward. >> neil canlis owns a real estate company that tracks market trends across the bay area. >> we're losing a percenta

what nonprofits are trusted, like united policyholders to help them navigate that, and how to navigate things like contractor fraud? you know, three types of people show up after a dister. those who want to sell you something, those who want to defraud you, and those who want to help. bly says he's grateful you got to be community driven to help these people, you know, facilitate and get back into homes and to get their fire mitigation handled. what do the homeowners need right away, even at this point? money. the long road to recovery is something every area hit by wildfire understands. and fortunately, groups like after the fire stay for the long run in boulder creek, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. our team coverage of the southern california wildfires continues a little bit later in this newscast. coming up at 530, we're going to take you to the oakland hills, where neighbors are raising new concerns about their city's decision to close fire stations to help balance the budget, especially after seeing what's happening in southern california. we'

amy bach leads the nonprofit united policyholders.s the la fires are the first large scale disaster since california's insurance crisis forced countless families to cut back their home insurance or go without a policy. after these fires, we're going to see both. we're going to see more of both, i expect, than we've ever seen in the past, and we've already seen a lot. bach predicts a record number of families are now on the hook for cleanup and rebuilding costs. some people will turn to fefema or banks or both. a 401 k loan could be an important lifeline. sam taub at nerdwallet and i discussed 401 s. if you're still working. ask if your 401 k allows you to take out a loan. many do. typically, you're allowed to borrow up to $50,000 or up to half of the account balance, whichever one is less. after you get your money, you'll repay it t with payments plus interest. the interest rates on these things are not necessarily as high as, say, a credit card rate. you're also paying interest to yourself and not a financial institution. if you ever

. >> now, amy, back with united policyholders, says the cost to california consumers is not set in stoneity. so we'll see how that all shakes out. but according to this bulletin, the insurers will need to request the commissioners prior approval to pass on that cost to the policyholders. and as for the fair plan's financial future, a big factor will be determined by the liability of the utilities. as we already know, edison is being blamed for the eaton fire. so if other utilities are blamed, that will play a factor in all this. >> lawsuits have already been filed over this, as you know. >> yes, exactly. >> thank you stephanie. of course. >> well, our wildfire coverage continues at 630 with a look at the newest arrivals in the bay area from los angeles. animals that are up for adoption. plus, this has been a 15 month nightmare for the families. >> i can't i don't think any of us can imagine what it's been like for the hostages themselves. >> tonight, the bay area reacts to news of a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas, a deal that could make a difference to what but do they really? d

host: amy bach the executive director of united policyholders. you can find out more on up p announcer: friday is the 52nd kennel march for life rally in washington, d.c.. the event will include house speaker mike johnson, senate majority leader john thune, and other pro-life advocates. watch the riley life from national mall at noon eastern on c-span c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org. ♪ [applause] american history tv. saturdays of c-span2's. exploring the people and events that tell the american story. this weekend at 645 p.m. eastern, we visit mount vernon to tour recent renovations and preservation efforts at the historic property. then, at 8:00 p.m. eastern on "lectures in history," a duke university professor discusses latino migration in the 20th and early 19 century. end at 9:30 p.m. eastern on "the presidency a," historian speaks at the boston athenaeum about the second u.s. president and massachusetts' favorite son john adams. 's presidency and folded against the backdrops of the personalities of the new nati

. >> amy bach with united policyholders explains the california fair plan, the state's insurer of last resort, is only as strong as the number of admitted insurance companies we have doing business in the state. a number california has seen decline, with at least a dozen insurers pulling out or restricting new policies. >> there's no question there's going to be a lot of people who were impacted by this fire whose insurance falls short. >> for example, the california fair plan caps insurance payments for natural disasters at $3 million for residential policyholders. that price tag affects at least 33 bay area cities, where the average home value now exceeds $2 million. that's according to data from zillow. so what impact could this have on the housing market? >> with the cap being at $3 million, you're talking about a high percentage of homes not being able to get coverage up to a certain amount. that's going to drastically change how the market is going to be moving forward. >> neil canales owns a real estate company that tracks market trends across the bay area. >> we're losing a per

amy bach leads the nonprofit united policyholders. she says the la fires are the first large scale disaster since california's insurance crisis forced countless families to cut back their home insurance or go without a policy. after these fires, we're going to see both. we're gng to see more of both, i expect, than we've ever seen in the past, and we've already seen a lot. bach predicts a record number of families are now on the hook for cleanup and rebuilding costs. some people will turn to fema or banks or both. a 401 k loan could be an important lifeline. sam taub at nerdwallet and i discussed 401. s if you're still working. ask if your 401 k allows you to take out a loan. many do. typically, you're allowed to borrow up to $50,000 or up to half of the account balance, whichever one is less. after you get your money, you'll repay it with payments plus interest. the interest rates on these things are not necessarily as high as, say, a credit card rate. you're also paying interest to yourself and not a financial institution. if you ev

. >> amy bach with united policyholders explains the california fair plan, the state's insurer of lastort, is only as strong as the number of admitted insurance companies we have doing business in the state. a number california has seen decline, with at least a dozen insurers pulling out or restricting new policies. >> there's no question there's going to be a lot of people who were impacted by this fire whose insurance falls short. >> for example, the california fair plan caps insurance payments for natural disasters at $3 million for residential policyholders. that price tag affects at least 33 bay area cities, where the average home value now exceeds $2 million. that's according to data from zillow. so what impact could this have on the housing market? >> with the cap being at $3 million, you're talking about a high percentage of homes not being able to get coverage up to a certain amount. that's going to drastically change how the market is going to be moving forward. >> neil canales owns a real estate company that tracks market trends across the bay area. >> we're losing a percent

. >> amy bach with united policyholders explains the california fair plan, the state's insurer of lasts only as strong as the number of admitted insurance companies we have doing business in the state. a number of california has seen decline, with at least a dozen insurers pulling out or restricting new policies. >> there's no question there's going to be a lot of people who were impacted by this fire whose insurance falls short. >> for example, the california fair plan caps insurance payments for natural disasters at $3 million for residential policyholders. that price tag affects at least 33 bay area cities, where the average home value now exceeds $2 million. that's according to data from zillow. so what impact could this have on the housing market? >> with the cap being at $3 million, you're talking about a high percentage of homes not being able to get coverage up to a certain amount. that's going to drastically change how the market is going to be moving forward. >> neil canlis owns a real estate company that tracks market trends across the bay area. >> we're losing a percentage

but i do want to point out amy boch with united policyholders says the cost to california consumers is not set in stone and remains a remote possibility. so we'll see how this all shakes out. according to the bulletin, the insurers that make up there, the fair plan will need to request the commissioners prior approval to pass on the cost to policyholders. as for the fair plan's financial future, a big factor will be determined by the liability of the utilities. we already know edison is being blamed for the eaton fire, so if other utilities are blamed, that will play a factor in the future for the fair plan, right? >> i mean, you hope that it would be federally backed or something so that if fair does go under, you know, and then you also wonder, will these insurance companies just say goodbye to california altogether? >> of course, that's the big fear here. so, you know, we'll be on this for the foreseeable future. of course, tracking what happens. >> and this was preceded by thousands of policyholders having their home insurance canceled. yeah. so there's a lot of people that don't h

amy bach heads united policyholders, a nonprofit that's helped families with insurance since 1991.s your family blindly becomes underinsured when your policy auto renews each year, but doesn't keep pace with the realistic cost to rebuild your home. well, then, if your house burns down and you don't have enough coverage, you're on the hook to pay the difference. check your policy now and do one math problem. look at the number under dwelling insurance, then divide it by your home's square footage. if that per square foot insurance per square foot number is somewhere in the $200 range, you're underinsured. amy says 300 to 400 is more realistic. ask a contractor to confirm. then ask your agent about getting more insurance, and you don't have to wait for your policy's renewal date. you can take action today if you have a consumer battle for us to check out, please share your story. scan the qr code on your screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. thank you chris. 626 and we've got a lot more ahead for you at 630 on president trump's inauguration. ahead, our scot

amy bach, the executive director of a consumer advocacy group, united policyholders, says homeowners now are just struggling to figure out what they need to do at a time when the market has been so chaotic. >> what people seem to be worried about most, number one is how long is it going to take me to get the money from my insurance company that i need? how am going to pay for my temporary rent? are they going to pay for that? and is it going to be a fight to get what i am entitled to? so i think people are wondering if they should be loaded for bear, ready for a fight, or whether their insurer is gonna step up and treat them fairly right out of the gate. amna: joining me now to look at all of this is jake bittle, staff writer at grist and author of "the great displacement: climate change and the next american migration." welcome to the news hour. thank you for joining us. jake: thank you for having me. amna: before the 2025 wildfires you saw insurers scrapping policies, limiting coverage in fire prone areas. what prompted that? jake: for a long time the state of california limited th

amy bach heads united policyholders, a nonprofit that's helped families with insurance since 1991.dly becomes underinsured when your policy auto renews each year, but doesn't keep pace with the realistic cost to rebuild your home. well, then, if your house burns down and you don't have enough coverage, you're on the hook to pay the difference. check your policy now and do one math problem. look at the number under dwelling insurance, then divide it by your home's square footage. if that per square foot insurance per square foot number is somewhere in the $200 range, you're underinsured. amy says 300 to 400 is more realistic. ask a contractor to confirm. then ask your agent about getting more insurance, and you don't have to wait for your policy's renewal date. you can take action today if you have a consumer battle for us to check out. please share your story. scan the qr code on your screen right now to fill out our consumer complaint form online. okay, good to know. thanks,nues. . i noticed things changed. breztri gave me better breathing starting within 5 minutes. it also reduce

and amy bach is executive director of united policyholders, a california based nonprofit consumer groupnow you've been looking into the estimated economic damage of these fires. what can you tell us? well, the numbers will be big. i mean, 20 billion, this first estimate that's just insured losses. there will be tens of billions of other damages that won't be covered by any kind of insurance. >> and already there was an insurance crisis in california. and here you look, over the last decade, some $70 billion in insured losses. and chris moody's says that of every dollar in premiums that the insurance companies collected to cover those properties, they had to pay out $1.08 in in damages. >> so you can see that unsustainable math just doesn't work. >> and it's one of the reasons why climate change and extreme weather is raising insurance premiums for everyone across the country. >> so, amy, this morning, california's insurance commissioner talked about what is being done to protect homeowners. and i want to play that. >> i am using my moratorium power to stop all non-renewals and cancellat

with me now is amy bach, executive director of the united policyholders group, which advocates on behalf of consumers. amy, it's great to have you on the show. let's start with the situation that we're seeing that victims might be facing here. what are the biggest red flags that you are seeing so far when it comes to insurance claims? the insurance companies in a situation like this, have you ever seen anything this drastic? >> so i mean, we are my organization has been bringing our roadmap to recovery program to wildfire impacted communities since 1991. so we've seen some big ones. this is obviously the record breaker. and it's just it's just sort of hard to get your mind around the level of destruction for most of the people impacted. hopefully will be insured and for them, you know, we hope it won't be a fight. we have lots of resources. there's lots of resources out there to help people, you know, get what they're entitled to get what they paid for. we do know, though, that because the state has been in the grip of a home insurance affordability and availability crisis, there's going

amy bach leads the nonprofit united policyholders.e disaster since california's insurance crisis forced countless families to cut back their home insurance or go without a policy. after these fires, we're going to see both. we're going to see more of both, i expect, than we've ever seen in the past, and we've already seen a lot. bach predicts a record number of families are now on the hook for cleanup and rebuilding costs. some people will turn to fe or banks or both. a 401 k loan could be an important lifeline. sam taub at nerdwallet and i discussed 401. s if you're still working. ask if your 401 k allows you to take out a loan. many do. typically, you're allowed to borrow up to $50,000 or up to half of the account balance, whichever one is less. after you get your money, you'll repay it with payments plus interest. the interest rates on these things are not necessarily as high as, say, a credit card rate. you're also paying ierest to yourself and not a financial institution. if you ever find yourself in need of a loan, contact your

i'm sorry, united policyholders. we are talking about the impact climate disasters are having on the u.s. insurance market. if you have a question or comment for her, you can call in now. the lines are broken down regionally. if you are in the eastern or central time zone, it is (202) 748-8001. you can shoot as a text as well. a headline from cbs, thousands of los angeles homeowners were dropped by their insurer before the palisades fire. it is not just the increasing costs of homeowner insurance but also the availability. talk to us about what is happening there. amy: what's happening here is very similar to what has been happening in florida for a number of years. the brand name insurance companies that people have been relying on to ensure their homes for many, many years, businesses as