Jean Eaglesham

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Jean Eaglesham

Jay Taylor thought it was just a bad case of the flu. An ambulance, hospital stay and battery of blood tests later, the 63-year-old grandfather learned the devastating truth: He had leukemia. The Newport Beach, Calif., resident quickly dug out his life-insurance documents from the drawer where they had sat for more than two decades. “One of the first things you think about when a doctor says you have incurable cancer is, ‘How will I protect my family?’” he said.

2 months ago | wsj.com | Jean Eaglesham |Nicole Friedman

LOS ANGELES—Susan Spira called her insurer days after the Los Angeles wildfires destroyed her family’s home—only to be told her policy had been canceled. The reason: In the chaotic days after the house burned to the ground, her monthly premium hadn’t been paid. “I nearly fell apart,” she said. Spira, a real-estate lawyer, fought back and the insurer, California’s Fair Plan, agreed her Pacific Palisades house was covered when the infernos sparked.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Jean Eaglesham |Nicole Friedman

Condominium owners across the country are facing a paralyzing problem: They can’t sell their properties because of a fast-growing and mostly secret mortgage blacklist. Real-estate agent Paul Gangi was days away from closing a sale of his listing in Shadow Ridge, a 440-unit townhouse and condo complex in Ventura County, Calif., in December. That is when his phone rang. “I got a panicked call from the lender saying, ‘Sorry, we’ve just found out Shadow Ridge has been blacklisted,’” he said.

2 months ago | wsj.com | Jean Eaglesham |Nicole Friedman

March 17, 2025 5:30 am ETCondominium owners across the country are facing a paralyzing problem: They can’t sell their properties because of a fast-growing and mostly secret mortgage blacklist. Real-estate agent Paul Gangi was days away from closing a sale of his listing in Shadow Ridge, a 440-unit townhouse and condo complex in Ventura County, Calif., in December. That is when his phone rang. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

2 months ago | wsj.com | Jean Eaglesham

California regulators have given State Farm provisional approval for an emergency 22% hike in home-insurance rates, months after devastating wildfires upended the state’s already troubled insurance market. The rate increase will add an average $600 a year to the bills of State Farm’s million-plus home-insurance customers in California, the consumer group Consumer Watchdog estimated. It comes barely a year after a 20% increase came into effect. State Farm is California’s biggest home insurer.