Real-Estate Matters: Homeowners insurance comes with caveats
Posted: April 3, 2019
Q: I read your recent column (Jan. 27) about insurance coverage. In the past, I had three house fires that I had to deal with. None of these fires were my fault. Every time, I had problems with my insurance companies. In the column you mention that you had friends who had a $1 million homeowners replacement policy, and how the insurance company paid $2...
Corey Johnson targets Scaffold Law in plan to fix MTA
Posted: March 11, 2019
Council Speaker Corey Johnson has targeted a sacred cow in his plan to reform the MTA: New York’s much-maligned Scaffold Law, which critics say boosts insurance costs for transit projects and on other construction in New York State by hundreds of millions of dollars. The Scaffold Law assigns 100 percent liability on owners and contractors for workplace injuries — without considering whether the worker is...
Forgiveness isn’t free—and it raises your insurance costs
Posted: November 26, 2018
Think twice before paying for accident forgiveness If you pay extra for accident forgiveness with your car insurance, you might think your premium won’t go up if you cause a crash. But don’t bet on it — it’s not quite that simple. With accident forgiveness, insurers say they won’t raise your rate solely due to an at-fault accident claim. Some offer it as a free loyalty...
Wildfires in California have destroyed thousands of homes, and the devastating pattern is making fire insurance more expensive and complicated than ever
Posted: November 13, 2018
More than 7,000 structures have been destroyed as three wildfires continue to burn their way through California, according to the Los Angeles Times. Thanks to heightened wildfire activity across the state, it’s becoming harder than ever for California homeowners to obtain and keep fire insurance, reported the Associated Press. “As California wildfires grow larger and more intense, an increasing number of insurance companies are not...
The Best Ways to Insure Expensive Jewelry and Valuable Items
Posted: October 25, 2018
It often seems there's an insurance policy to cover just about everything you own. You can cover your home, the contents of a rental home, your car, your business, your health, and even your life. But when it comes to insuring expensive jewelry and valuable items, things get a little bit complicated. Now: Part of that complication is due to the way jewelry and valuable...
