As hurricane season kicks into full gear, Pennsylvania officials are reflecting on the impacts of Hurricane Agnes 50 years ago, and urging property owners to consider getting flood insurance to protect their homes.

Hurricane Agnes was the costliest big storm to hit the United States at the time in 1972. It affected much of the East Coast, but Pennsylvania was hit the hardest, with more than 3,000 businesses and 68,000 homes destroyed.

Michael Humphreys, acting insurance commissioner for Pennsylvania, said natural disasters create hardship and stress for property owners left to deal with the aftermath.

"There are too many Pennsylvanians who have lost everything and didn't have flood insurance to help them rebuild," Humphreys recounted. "Even if your property is outside a federally designated Special Flood Hazard area, and you are not required to buy flood insurance by your mortgage lender, you should consider flood insurance. The risk of flooding doesn't go away just because you paid off your mortgage."

Just last summer, Tropical Storm Ida caused severe flooding damage throughout the Commonwealth, with cleanup costs estimated at $100 million. People looking to purchase a home or property should do their research before buying to determine if the area has had previous flooding.

Randy Padfield, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said flooding continues to be the most common natural disaster experienced in the Commonwealth. He said over the past 28 years, 90% of flooding incidents in the state have occurred outside the Special Flood Hazard Zone, meaning places that have never seen flooding before.

"Please take the first step and at least inquire as to what a policy would cost," Padfield urged. "You may be surprised to how affordable a policy is, depending on your individual circumstances and the peace of mind it affords you and your family."

There is more information on the National Flood Insurance Program and other resources in the event of severe flooding on the state Insurance Department's website. In most cases, there is a 30-day waiting period after purchase before flood insurance policies become active.

New legislation would bring the insurance industry under Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act.

Supporters said the change would protect consumers from deceptive practices.

Tyler Staggs, an attorney in Portland, represented insurers for nearly 20 years. He said his law firm now advocates for consumers because of the insurance industry's growing unfairness. He cited such cases as a client left homeless when an insurer denied living expenses after a house fire. In another case, he added, a client was denied a claim after a brain injury from a car accident.

"Rather than paying the benefits that the insured paid for, the insurance company lowballs them and delays, to see if they can force them to take a settlement," Staggs explained.

Oregon's insurance industry is the only major industry in the state not subject to the state's Unlawful Trade Practices Act. The bill is scheduled for a work session in the Senate Tuesday.

Staggs pointed out insurance companies argued the change will lead to more lawsuits and higher rates for consumers. He countered if companies are treating people fairly, rates will not have to increase.

"To say, well, 'We shouldn't have this enforcement mechanism because it's going to raise your rates,' really seems like disingenuous and it seems like blackmail," Staggs contended.

Staggs explained under the law, if the court finds a lawsuit to be unjustified, the insured would be responsible for covering the insurance company's legal fees, which protects insurers against baseless claims.

Mike Leib, vice president of Precision Body and Paint, an auto-body repair shop based in Beaverton, said insurers exploit consumers' lack of time and money to fight claims. He noted negotiating with insurers has become combative, as they routinely delay and deny legally required repair reimbursements.

"They are declining required repair procedures by manufacturers," Leib observed. "That can result in an unsafe repair, which can result in a death."

Both Leib and Staggs said insurance companies' quality of service has been worse since the pandemic, when they closed local offices and started depending more on artificial intelligence. They added the legislation would make insurance companies accountable to fairly evaluate claims.


get more stories like this via email

As Los Angeles starts to recover from the firestorm, people are looking for ways to harden their homes against future mega-blazes.

Experts said the massive destruction from the Palisades and Eaton fires has some people discouraged, thinking there is nothing they can do to defend their homes.

Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director for the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, said in fact, homeowners can significantly reduce their risk.

"Home survival is down to making sure that the exterior of the home cannot carry ignition," Steinberg explained. "By that we mean non-combustible roofing, siding, good windows that aren't going to crack under heat."

The home ignition zone is the five-foot area around your structure, so anything within the perimeter, including decks, porches, and fences, needs to be made of non-combustible material. Screens on vents work to prevent embers from being sucked up into the home.

California's statewide building code is considered one of the strongest in the country. It specifies how buildings should be designed and maintained and how they should be sited with appropriate defensible space. Steinberg added the state helps people find fire-safe materials.

"They actually list products that meet those standards," Steinberg pointed out. "You can actually find manufacturers and people that have provided those products on the California State Fire Marshal's website."

Experts also cautioned against putting dry wood mulch or climbing vegetation up against the house.


get more stories like this via email

Coloradans with low bank balances would be on the hook for an extra $225 a year if Congress votes to roll back a new rule capping overdraft fees at $5. Fees had been as high as $35.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency behind the new rule, recently lost its offices and all of its 1,700 workers as the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, informally run by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, went to work remaking the federal government.

Christine Chen Zinner, senior policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, said the bureau is critical for protecting American consumers.

"This is a law enforcement agency that protects everyday people when financial institutions cheat and defraud them," Chen Zinner explained. "In the short 14 years that it's been around, it has already recovered $21 billion for everyday people."

The bureau was set to regulate X, Musk's social media site, as it rolls out financial transactions similar to PayPal and Venmo. After workers were sent home, Musk posted "CFPB RIP." The financial industry also disagrees with the agency over what it called aggressive policing of wrongful home foreclosures and credit reports, fraudulent credit card charges and predatory junk fees.

The agency's fate could be decided in federal court. Nearly 77 million people voted for Trump.

Nearly 77 million people voted for Trump, and Andrea Kuwik, policy and research director for the Bell Policy Center, said many did so in part because they were struggling to make ends meet and believed a new administration would help bring down costs. She noted the bureau was set up precisely to protect people's pocketbooks and savings.

"There are a lot of folks that are struggling," Kuwik emphasized. "This entity has a proven track record of saving people money. Getting rid of that I think is counterproductive."

The 2008 subprime mortgage crash which led to the Great Recession showed what is at stake when financial institutions operate without real oversight. Zinner believes a strong and independent consumer protection agency which does not have to bend to the whims of politicians is essential.

"We simply can't have a fair market unless there is a strong enforcement agency there to enforce those laws and protect people," Zinner contended. "The Trump administration is now giving all sorts of financial companies a green light to defraud and gouge their customers."

Colorado's members of Congress could split over the issue. Senators Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper have previously expressed support for the CFPB's work. But the House delegation is more mixed. Representative Lauren Boebert, and other Trump allies, are expected to support the rollback of the overdraft safeguard, while Representatives Jason Crow and Joe Neguse are likely to oppose it. A big unknown is Representative Gabe Evans, a Republican who won in a tough district.