California

CA couple loses homeowners’ insurance because they drained their pool to save water

Published

1 year ago

August 9, 2023

CA couple loses homeowners’ insurance because they drained their pool to save water

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) — It’s becoming harder and harder to get a homeowner insurance policy in California. State Farm and Allstate stopped writing new policies, citing wildfire risks. Others are limiting new customers. And now, several viewers tell 7 On Your Side that AAA is not renewing their longtime policies – and it has nothing to do with wildfires.

These homeowners were surprised to find out aircraft and satellites were taking photos over their homes. They were baffled to find out the reasons AAA dropped their coverage — everything from clutter in the yard to draining a swimming pool to save water.

When we last met CJ Sveen of Oakley, AAA had just notified him it would not renew his homeowner insurance. AAA said he had debris and hazards in his yard.

“Apparently they have some pictures and they noticed clutter,” Sveen said. “I find that offensive. How dare you judge me because of my stuff!”

Sveen said the yard is his workshop — not a hazard. Sveen said, “There was no chance to mitigate, clean up, do anything, it was just, you’re fired.”

MORE: Consumer group accuses Allstate, State Farm of extortion after insurers halt new home policies in CA

George Nadeau of San Rafael also got a non-renewal notice — but this time, AAA said it was because his roof had “exceeded its useful life.”

“I think obviously that their drone surveillance was bogus,” Nadeau said. “And that’s crazy. We have one of the best maintained residences in the neighborhood. And we’ve kept very good care of our roof!”

Nadeau sent invoices to a local agent showing he had a new roof installed on his home seven years ago and a $4,000 upgrade just last March. He also sent photos of the finished roof.

“We’ve lived in this house for 50 years and have maintained our roof in a very effective way. So to have an insurance company telling me that I’m not doing my job is a little bit annoying,” Nadeau said.

The company said the decision was final. Nadeau appealed to a local agent.

VIDEO: Insurance company drops customer saying a ‘drone’ took photos of clutter in yard

“And she literally said they’re looking for excuses to eliminate homeowners policies in this area. I’m 85 years old. I feel like I’m a victim of some kind of conspiracy. Give us some consideration for the good citizens we’ve been all these years,” Nadeau said.

AAA cited a puzzling reason for not renewing Marilyn Smith’s policy. She and her husband had drained their swimming pool to conserve water… during the drought!

“I think I was in so much shock, I couldn’t believe it,” Smith said. “I mean, we were both in shock. Because the pool is empty. What’s that got to do with canceling your home insurance?”

The couple drained the pool after their grandchildren grew up and moved away.

“We decided well, we don’t use it you know, the kids have moved in different states… that saves us on maintenance… and then just the water, because it does evaporate, so you have to be putting water in there every couple of days… and that’s not a small little pool. Water was becoming very expensive,” Smith said.

MORE: UC Berkeley team tests portable harvester device to pull water out of air

Now they use the empty pool like a hothouse to grow potted tomatoes and lettuce. But the AAA notice said the pool showed signs of “deferred maintenance.”

“She just flat out said because the pool was empty,” Smith said. “I don’t understand what their problem is. Because you empty a pool and you’re saving on water.”

CSAA Insurance Group, the parent of AAA, said, “CSAA Insurance Group has provided homeowners insurance to AAA members in Northern California for more than 40 years. Over that time, we’ve helped thousands of AAA members recover from home damage and disasters. To continue offering industry-leading insurance coverage, we must periodically evaluate our exposure to risk. After careful review of our exposure, we continue to offer insurance throughout Northern California as long as our underwriting criteria are met. CSAA Insurance Group evaluates many sources of information to assess the condition of properties we insure, including third-party proprietary aerial imagery captured by fixed-wing aircraft and satellites. Out of respect for customer privacy, CSAA Insurance Group does not comment on specific situations or policies, but we will follow-up to better understand these concerns.”

Consumer advocate Amy Bach of United Policyholders said insurance companies are using new technology like drone surveillance to look for potential risks.

“Insure tech tools are scaring insurers,” Bach said. “It’s just very easy now for them to put a customer in the discard pile based on this tech information that they’re using and buying. So far it’s not really helping the consumer.”

However, it’s not all gloom. After searching for weeks, Sveen found a new and cheaper policy offered through the military — so did Smith and her husband. And after Nadeau sent in all those photos of his roof, AAA reinstated his policy after all.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

You may also email 7OYS@KGO-TV.COM.

Please note the address uses the letter “O”, not zeros. Be sure to include your full name, email, street address, and phone number.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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California

State of California confirms an increase in Social Security payments as of Dec. 30

Published

7 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Press Room

State of California confirms an increase in Social Security payments as of Dec. 30

The State of California has confirmed that Social Security beneficiaries will receive an increase in their payments beginning December 30, 2024. This 2.5% increase is part of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) applied across the United States for 2025. The COLA is based on inflation rates to ensure beneficiaries maintain their purchasing power.

The December 30, 2024 Payment

The first payment reflecting this increase will be for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Normally scheduled for January 1, this payment has been moved to December 30 due to the New Year’s Day holiday. This adjustment benefits millions in California and across the country, particularly those who rely on these funds for basic needs.

Types of Social Security Benefits

The Social Security program encompasses several types of benefits, all of which will see the 2.5% increase:

Retirement Benefits: For individuals who have reached retirement age and contributed to the system during their working years.
Disability Insurance (SSDI): For individuals unable to work due to a long-term disability.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): For low-income individuals, including seniors and people with disabilities.
Survivor Benefits: Payments made to family members of deceased workers.

January 2025 Payment Schedule

Social Security payments are distributed based on the beneficiary’s birthdate. Here is the schedule for January 2025:

January 3: Payments for those who receive benefits before May 1997 or who also receive SSI.
January 8: Beneficiaries born between the 1st and 10th of the month.
January 15: Beneficiaries born between the 11th and 20th of the month.
January 22: Beneficiaries born between the 21st and 31st of the month.

The COLA increase will be reflected in all these payments.

Impact in California and Nationwide

California, home to more than 6 million Social Security beneficiaries, will see a significant impact from this adjustment. However, the increase is a nationwide policy benefiting over 70 million recipients across the United States.

This adjustment aims to ease the financial burden on Americans as they face rising living costs, reinforcing the commitment to support the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

For more details about your payments, you can visit the official Social Security Administration (SSA) website.

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California

Scientists document carnivorous squirrels in California who hunt voles : Short Wave

Published

16 hours ago

December 27, 2024

Press Room

Scientists document carnivorous squirrels in California who hunt voles : Short Wave

Squirrels are omnivores, eating nuts, fruit, small insects — and according to a study published in the Journal of Ethology — voles.

Sonja Wild, UC Davis

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Sonja Wild, UC Davis

Squirrels are omnivores, eating nuts, fruit, small insects — and according to a study published in the Journal of Ethology — voles.

Sonja Wild, UC Davis

Squirrels are on the hunt in the California Bay Area.

Their target: local voles.

In a study published in the Journal of Ethology, a group of California ground squirrels were found hunting, killing and eating a vole. Lead researcher and behavioral ecologist Jennifer Smith from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire says her team witnessed this behavior in the twelfth year of a long term study.

The local vole population boomed this year. It was five to six times bigger than normal, Smith says the squirrels took advantage of that.

But this behavior is not new. “There’s been accumulating evidence of one or two events within a species of a red squirrel taking a sparrow,” she says, also noting, “They tend to go, try to take chickens.”

But these accounts have been thought to be one-offs, generally.

With this study, the squirrels’ entire process was captured via video — and shown to be a regular part of these squirrels’ behavior.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and Jordan-Marie Smith and edited by Rebecca Ramirez, Christopher Intagliata and Ashley Brown. Tyler Jones checked the facts.

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California

Top 25 California high school boys basketball rankings (12/26/2024)

Published

24 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Top 25 California high school boys basketball rankings (12/26/2024)

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is always revealing for the best boys basketball teams in California and final days of the 2024 calendar year should be no different.

The Damien Classic and Torrey Pines Holiday Classic always present a window of what is in store for the rest of the season and separates the contenders and pretenders. Next weekend at the HoopHall Classic West in Gilbert (Ariz.), Jan. 2-4, will also give the elite teams time to strut their stuff.

There are nine teams among California’s Top 25 still unbeaten at Christmas, a pretty high number, including top-ranked St. John Bosco, No. 6 Riordan and No. 8 De La Salle and No. 9 Montgomery.

Note: Only teams that play for a CIF State California title were considered for this rankings, thus eliminating Prolific Prep of Napa Christian, which can and will play for a mythical national title. Notes and rankings below from Southern Section teams supplied by SBLive’s Tarek Fattal.

The Braves win their Trinity League opener over Orange Lutheran without Brandon McCoy and Elzie Harrington. Christian Collins and Max Ellis led the way. Next up: Platinum Division in Classic at Damien.

Eastvale Roosevelt wins the 2024 Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, beating Notre Dame Sherman Oaks in the final, 76-58. / Tarkanian Classic/X

Roosevelt wins the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, beating Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks in the final. Brayden Burries scored 26 points and Issac Williamson had 19.

Nik Khamenia notches 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a convincing win over JSerra, a team expected to earn an Open Division berth.

Notre Dame suffers its first loss in the Tarkanian Classic final to Roosevelt despite Tyran Stokes scoring 20 points. Lino Mark played just four minutes in an attempt to play while injured. (TYRAN STOKES DEBUT)

Four more wins started with 90-65 blowout of defending state D2 champion Oakland Tech behind 33 points and 10 points from Tounde Yessoufou, and a combined 45 from Julius and Malcolm Price along with Gunner Morinini. Yessoufou is averaging 29.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Riordan top recruit Jasir Rencher helped lead the Crusaders to a Central Coast Section Open Division title in 2024. After a strong showing at the Section 7 event last weekend, the Crusaders are a team to watch in the Cali Live 2024 in Roseville this weekend. / Photo: Greg Jungferman

Won the Gridley Classic with wins over Branson (68-27), Clovis North (54-52) and previous No. 6 Salesian (52-51) thanks in part to tournament MVP Andrew Hilman (19 points). Texas Tech-bound Jasir Rencher and Irvine signee Nex Emeneke was also All-Tourney.

Carlton Perrilliat also added 11 rebounds in limited minutes.

Carlton Perrilliat swoops in for two of his game-high 22 points in Salesian’s lopsided win over Windward last spring at the at Cali Live 24 in Roseville. / Photo: Gary Jones

Pride lost their first regular-season game since 2022, 52-51 to Riordan, in finals of the Gridley Classic. Salesian missed two free throws with 1.2 seconds to play.

Win over Santa Margarita (61-57) to win the Vountour Classic was team’s most impressive. David Balogun, a rapidly improving 6-6 post, scored 29 to lead the way. Since then breathers over Mountain House (67-35), La Salle (76-26) and Sacred Heart Cathedral (79-39).

The Aztecs from San Diego won five games last week, including four at the Tarkanian Classic to take the Nike Division championship behind division’s Most Outstanding Player J.J. Sanchez, who had 22 points in the finals.

Eagles’ only loss comes this week to unbeaten NorCal power De La Salle, but bounces back with a win over Murrieta Valley.

Trailblazers beat Millikan 87-33 this past week.

The Lions get a taste of Open Division-level hoops in a 65-50 loss to Harvard-Westlake.

Redondo Union is picking up Open Division playoff buzz.

La Mirada forward Gene Roebuck is one of the top 2027 prospects on the West Coast. / Tarek Fattal

La Mirada has been idle since Dec. 14.

Coach Paul Tait is enthused by the play of sophomore point guard Dominic Loehle.

After lopsided win over St. Augustine (77-54), recorded tough wins over Sage Creek (75-66), Mission Hills (67-59) and La Jolla Country Day (80-68).

Monarchs have won five of their last six.

Pius went 2-2 at the Tarkanian Classic.

Jasone Crowe Jr. is averaging 37 points per game.

Had won four straight before losing 63-54 to Brophy College Prep of Phoenix Ariz. (63-54).

Quality win over Pacifica Christian of Orange County without Jeremiah Hampton was impressive. JJ Harris and Louis Bond impressed.

Canyon has won five straight. Brandon Benjamin averaging 30+ points a game.

Damien without big man Nate Garcia (injured).

Twelve straight wins isn’t a bad way to start the season. Defense a big key, holding opponents under 50 seven times, including three straight games limiting opponents to 49 in wins over Riverside poly (61-49), Salesian Los Angeles (93-49) and Wiseburn-Da Vinci (61-49).

Cougars last win came against Long Beach Poly on Dec. 14.

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