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Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Cut This Expense in 2025 — What Are the Risks?
When money gets tight, Americans are often forced to cut expenses to save money. It can be especially tempting to cut or downgrade insurance coverage, since it doesn't deliver any immediate or tangible rewards (apart from peace of mind). In fact, insurance is one purchase you make hoping that you never need it. However, canceling or downgrading insurance coverage can leave you exposed to added costs and extra stress during an emergency. A new survey from Guardian Service found 29% of Americans downgraded or cut insurance coverage in the past year to cope with rising costs. Of those, 15% downgraded or canceled car insurance, while 8% cut health insurance and 5% downgraded homeowners coverage. Read Next: Find Out: Each of these decisions has inherent risks. '[Cutting insurance] increases financial exposure when every dollar matters,' said Kara Credle, a licensed insurance agent at Guardian Service. Experts in each industry agreed that there are better ways to save. Car Insurance While car insurance is mandated in every state except New Hampshire, there are different levels of coverage you can choose. Most states require drivers to carry liability insurance. No-fault states, and a few at-fault states, also require personal injury protection, according to Progressive. If you have a car loan or lease, your lender will often require that you carry collision coverage to protect their financial investment. Credle pointed out that 8% of Americans went from full coverage to only the required coverage last year, often once their car loans were paid off. 'It's a risky trade-off,' she said. 'Cutting components … can save money now, but it might mean footing the full bill later if an accident happens.' Before reducing your coverage, shop around for cheaper rates. You may not even need to switch insurers to get a better deal or more flexible payment terms. 'Talk to your provider,' Credle said. 'Many insurers offer flexible plans or discounts.' Check Out: Health Insurance Neal Shah, chairman of Counterforce Health, an AI-powered startup that helps people fight denied health insurance claims, likened downgrading health insurance, specifically, to removing your seatbelt in a car. 'You could get in a crash,' he said. 'The risks really outweigh the long-term savings.' In his book 'Insured to Death: How Health Insurance Screws Over Americans — And How We Take It Back,' he wrote that roughly 60% of medical-related bankruptcies involve people who did have health insurance when they got sick. 'Reducing coverage makes you even more vulnerable,' he said. He suggested using tactics like a health savings account (HSA) and direct primary care (DPC) to reduce your overall costs. With a DPC program, patients pay a monthly or annual fee to the provider and the subscription fee covers preventive care, unlimited visits, vaccines and other elements of basic healthcare. Patients would still need insurance to cover costs like testing or specialized care. 'Direct Primary Care is underutilized and gaining momentum,' Shah said. '[It] eliminates a lot of hassle for routine care.' Homeowners Insurance Like car insurance, homeowners insurance is typically required by your lender if you have a mortgage. But some types of home insurance, like flood or wildfire coverage, is often optional. 'Using historical data and trend, you can tailor coverage to your unique situation,' said Robb Lanham, chief sales officer for HUB Private Client. You can take that savings and use it to make your home more resilient against the greatest perils. But this comes with risks, as weather patterns are changing. 'As we are seeing, the weather is not predictable. You can't always outsmart the unpredictable and if you guess wrong, it could cause financial disaster,' Lanham said. 'The probabilities of something occurring are very seldom never.' Sharing data from United Policyholders, CBS News reported that nearly two-thirds of fire victims were uninsured or under-insured. 'In some cases, [homeowners] had to put retirement on hold because those funds were needed to rebuild,' Lanham said. 'Others had to move because they could no longer afford the increased cost of rebuilding and sold their property at discounted prices. In most cases, the financial burden was enough to cause major life and lifestyle changes.' If you can afford to take the financial risk, Lanham said you can increase your deductible or even consider a cost-sharing plan to save money. '[That] means the client pays half of the claim and the insurance company pays half,' he explained. 'But this could be substantial if there was a major loss.' A better step, he said, is 'strategic mitigation planning,' a process where you make your home and lifestyle more resilient to loss and, as a result, you may also receive insurance discounts. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck 4 Housing Markets That Have Plummeted in Value Over the Past 5 Years This article originally appeared on Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Cut This Expense in 2025 — What Are the Risks? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Cut This Expense in 2025 — What Are the Risks?
When money gets tight, Americans are often forced to cut expenses to save money. It can be especially tempting to cut or downgrade insurance coverage, since it doesn't deliver any immediate or tangible rewards (apart from peace of mind). In fact, insurance is one purchase you make hoping that you never need it. However, canceling or downgrading insurance coverage can leave you exposed to added costs and extra stress during an emergency. A new survey from Guardian Service found 29% of Americans downgraded or cut insurance coverage in the past year to cope with rising costs. Of those, 15% downgraded or canceled car insurance, while 8% cut health insurance and 5% downgraded homeowners coverage. Read Next: Find Out: Each of these decisions has inherent risks. '[Cutting insurance] increases financial exposure when every dollar matters,' said Kara Credle, a licensed insurance agent at Guardian Service. Experts in each industry agreed that there are better ways to save. Car Insurance While car insurance is mandated in every state except New Hampshire, there are different levels of coverage you can choose. Most states require drivers to carry liability insurance. No-fault states, and a few at-fault states, also require personal injury protection, according to Progressive. If you have a car loan or lease, your lender will often require that you carry collision coverage to protect their financial investment. Credle pointed out that 8% of Americans went from full coverage to only the required coverage last year, often once their car loans were paid off. 'It's a risky trade-off,' she said. 'Cutting components … can save money now, but it might mean footing the full bill later if an accident happens.' Before reducing your coverage, shop around for cheaper rates. You may not even need to switch insurers to get a better deal or more flexible payment terms. 'Talk to your provider,' Credle said. 'Many insurers offer flexible plans or discounts.' Check Out: Health Insurance Neal Shah, chairman of Counterforce Health, an AI-powered startup that helps people fight denied health insurance claims, likened downgrading health insurance, specifically, to removing your seatbelt in a car. 'You could get in a crash,' he said. 'The risks really outweigh the long-term savings.' In his book 'Insured to Death: How Health Insurance Screws Over Americans — And How We Take It Back,' he wrote that roughly 60% of medical-related bankruptcies involve people who did have health insurance when they got sick. 'Reducing coverage makes you even more vulnerable,' he said. He suggested using tactics like a health savings account (HSA) and direct primary care (DPC) to reduce your overall costs. With a DPC program, patients pay a monthly or annual fee to the provider and the subscription fee covers preventive care, unlimited visits, vaccines and other elements of basic healthcare. Patients would still need insurance to cover costs like testing or specialized care. 'Direct Primary Care is underutilized and gaining momentum,' Shah said. '[It] eliminates a lot of hassle for routine care.' Homeowners Insurance Like car insurance, homeowners insurance is typically required by your lender if you have a mortgage. But some types of home insurance, like flood or wildfire coverage, is often optional. 'Using historical data and trend, you can tailor coverage to your unique situation,' said Robb Lanham, chief sales officer for HUB Private Client. You can take that savings and use it to make your home more resilient against the greatest perils. But this comes with risks, as weather patterns are changing. 'As we are seeing, the weather is not predictable. You can't always outsmart the unpredictable and if you guess wrong, it could cause financial disaster,' Lanham said. 'The probabilities of something occurring are very seldom never.' Sharing data from United Policyholders, CBS News reported that nearly two-thirds of fire victims were uninsured or under-insured. 'In some cases, [homeowners] had to put retirement on hold because those funds were needed to rebuild,' Lanham said. 'Others had to move because they could no longer afford the increased cost of rebuilding and sold their property at discounted prices. In most cases, the financial burden was enough to cause major life and lifestyle changes.' If you can afford to take the financial risk, Lanham said you can increase your deductible or even consider a cost-sharing plan to save money. '[That] means the client pays half of the claim and the insurance company pays half,' he explained. 'But this could be substantial if there was a major loss.' A better step, he said, is 'strategic mitigation planning,' a process where you make your home and lifestyle more resilient to loss and, as a result, you may also receive insurance discounts. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck 4 Housing Markets That Have Plummeted in Value Over the Past 5 Years This article originally appeared on Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Cut This Expense in 2025 — What Are the Risks? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Young Americans are risking their most valuable asset with dangerous financial move
Gen Z Americans are skipping insurance claims and performing critical home repairs themselves as costs soar. One in three young homeowners - those born between 1997 and 2012 - say they are skipping insurance claims out of fear their homes will not pass inspection, according to new data from insurance agency Guardian Service. Instead two in three are opting to take on major home repairs themselves to save money. 'Many homeowners are living on borrowed time and borrowed trust, we're seeing financial strain and home safety come head-to-head,' home insurance expert Kara Credle from Guardian Service told Credle says a dangerous 'knowledge gap' is fueling the trend. Many homeowners don't realize that avoiding vital repair work such as roof work could make their home insurance premiums more expensive and even cancel their coverage, Credle warned. 'Homeownership is no longer the financial safe haven it used to be.' Some 71 percent of homeowners are unaware that making home upgrades can lower insurance premiums, the data revealed. Gen Z are taking on major home repairs themselves to save money With many Gen Z homeowners one emergency away from financial disaster, these findings point to systemic risks for the housing and insurance markets. Millions are living in under-maintained homes, quietly hiding what's behind the walls while hoping nothing goes wrong. Gen Z currently make up just 3 percent of all homebuyers in the US, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Gen Z are burdened by large student loans as well as sky high rents, leaving little income left over to save towards the costs of homeownership. 'Two-thirds of homeowners had their renovation budgets wiped out in 2025,' Credle added. 'This is a sign that we've moved beyond belt-tightening into financial survival.' At the same time house prices have rocketed to new highs, rising roughly 50 percent since 2020. Mortgage rates, which remain stubbornly high at around 7 percent, also make monthly payments too much for many younger workers. The median home price in the US is also more than $403,000, making a 20 percent deposit a tough ask for many too. 71 percent of homeowners are unaware making home upgrades can lower premiums 'The cost of homes is substantially higher than it was for previous generations, and you may not see as many starter homes being built or becoming available,' Nikki Beauchamp, from Sotheby's Realty, told Fortune. 'Add to that the student loan debt, and in general, it has been my observation that as a result they have much higher debt than my generation [Gen X] did at that age.' To add insult to injury, baby boomers are further pricing Gen Z out of home ownership by swooping in with all-cash offers and bigger down payments. With decades of savings from low mortgage rates, boomers have overtaken Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z in home purchases. For young families who still want to make a go of home ownership, help from the bank of mom and dad is a popular solution. For others the option is to move to a more affordable area, such as Wichita, Kansas, which was recently named the most affordable US city.
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Delay repairs or DIY? Homeowners who can't afford repairs worry their homes are less safe
In today's housing market, just buying a home can feel like crossing a finish line, but homeowners know it's only the beginning of a long, expensive, and complicated journey. Once homeowners are in the door, the down payment is spent, and focus shifts toward mortgage payments, it's not uncommon for repairs or upgrades to fall to the wayside. Between rising labor costs, material prices, and inflation, it's no secret home maintenance is expensive. This year, 71% of homeowners postponed renovations due to economic uncertainty, according to a survey by Guardian Service, which helps consumers shop insurance policies. That's usually where home insurance comes in. However, nearly 1 in 4 homeowners admit they've skipped filing a home insurance claim because they worried their home would not pass inspection. It's an even more common fear among young homeowners, with 1 in 3 Gen Z reporting they've been afraid to file. Close to a third of homeowners said they may wait a year or two before committing to major upgrades, and 15% said they're putting them off indefinitely. But the decision to live with a leaky ceiling or make peace with other problems in your home can have long-term consequences. Jon Ruggiero, Guardian Service's vice president of sales, compared home repairs to going to the doctor for a checkup, getting your car's oil changed, or its tires rotated. Without proper maintenance, homeowners could face more costly problems down the line. "Your home really is no different. It is the biggest investment you're ever going to make in your life. You want to make sure you're regularly checking in,' Ruggiero said. 'If you don't, you're more likely to put yourself in a situation where you have one of those extreme costs creep up.' Beyond risking rising premiums or getting dropped by insurers, nearly half of homeowners said they are concerned delaying maintenance in 2025 has made their house less safe. What repairs are homeowners postponing? It's little surprise homeowners prioritize necessary upgrades, with 69% saying they're most likely to invest in safety or structural improvements first. But home improvement budgets fell by an average of 42% this year, and two-thirds of homeowners said they eliminated theirs entirely, the survey found. Aesthetic upgrades, like repainting or installing new flooring, are the first to go, with 48% saying they're postponing those projects. Homeowners most often delay bathroom and kitchen remodels next. Less than a quarter of homeowners said they are also postponing window upgrades, electrical or plumbing repairs, and roof replacements this year. Even with summer heat waves and unusually high temperatures, 14% of homeowners said they're delaying an HVAC replacement. Delay or DIY? Homeowners are holding out for a time when making upgrades would be cheaper. At 69%, most say they are waiting for inflation to decline. Some are delaying in hopes of lower material and labor costs. Some are watching to see if potential tax credits or reduced tariffs will make their projects less expensive in the future. Others aren't willing to wait. While they may not have money to hire a contractor, 62% of homeowners surveyed are tackling critical repairs themselves. Young people are most inclined to DIY, with about 2 in 3 Gen Z and Millennial homeowners skipping professional help to save money. 'Gen Z has grown up in a world where they can go online and YouTube fixes,' Ruggiero said. 'They're more prone to trying to make themselves the expert and try to DIY a fix.' Anthony Scheirer, a public insurance adjuster known as the @insuranceclaimguy online, reminded homeowners that if they make any significant improvements, they need to let their insurance company know. Otherwise, those upgrades won't be covered and the homeowner would be left with gaps in their insurance policy. That often means it's on the homeowner to pay the entire cost of rebuilding an undisclosed addition if it's lost in a fire, for example. Some projects, like installing a wood stove, may increase liability or risk. If an insurer is kept in the dark about them until the next time a homeowner files a claim, especially if the wood stove caused a fire for instance, it could affect the overall payout. 'If you have a situation where you didn't tell them of the improvement, you could literally lose hundreds of thousands of dollars because you didn't make them aware,' Scheirer said. Tips to lower home insurance premiums Some home improvement projects can actually lower the owner's insurance premiums. While nearly half of homeowners say they would complete a delayed upgrade if that was the case, 71% said their insurer has not educated them about which upgrades could lower their monthly payment. Some common projects to lower premiums include storm-resistant windows, a new roof, and fireproofing, according to Guardian Service. Ruggiero told USA TODAY that installing a smart thermostat or central security system are some of the easiest upgrades homeowners can make that may bring their insurance costs down. But every policy is different. Ruggiero and Scheirer recommend reviewing yours with a qualified professional to see what changes could bring down your premiums. Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@ and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
Newsweek
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Newsweek
Millions of US Homeowners Issued Insurance Warning
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Millions of U.S. homeowners are unprepared for extreme weather, a new survey by Guardian Service suggests, with insurers warnings of the costly impact of complacency. The U.S. experienced a near-record number of climate-related disasters in 2024, at an average of nearly one every four days, according to a study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Despite the billions of dollars in damages caused by natural disasters annually, the Guardian Service survey suggests many homeowners still tend to underestimate or avoid the challenge they are facing. Forty percent of homeowners interviewed by the insurance agency said they are "well" or "extremely" prepared for an extreme weather event—but as many as 33 percent have taken no action whatsoever to protect their home, not even reviewing their coverage. Brittany Wooden and her family look on at the neighborhood her grandmother lives in, Allen Circle, where homes are underwater after excessive rains caused flooding on August 7, 2024, in Statesboro, Georgia. Brittany Wooden and her family look on at the neighborhood her grandmother lives in, Allen Circle, where homes are underwater after excessive rains caused flooding on August 7, 2024, in Statesboro, Georgia.A majority of homeowners don't have enough funds to weather a storm should their insurer not cover the damage incurred to their properties. 61 percent said they would rely on credit cards, loans, or family support to pay for weather-related home damage, while more than one-third (36 percent) currently have less than $1,000 saved for home emergencies. Many showed crucial gaps in their knowledge of how home insurance works. Forty-one percent mistakenly think flood damage is covered under a standard policy, and 68 percent don't know what a "named storm" deductible is. The survey was conducted among 2,000 U.S. homeowners on June 6—just days into this year's hurricane season, which forecasters said is very likely to be above average. While the survey is just a snapshot of the nation, it implies millions of Americans are taking considerable financial risk. Confidence Without Readiness The findings haven't surprised experts. Instead, they confirmed a pattern they have observed before of "confidence without readiness," as Kara Credle, a licensed insurance agent at Guardian Service, called it. Many homeowners believe they are prepared, but they haven't taken action to steady their homes ahead of a natural disaster. "People often underestimate their risk, especially if they haven't personally experienced a major disaster," Credle told Newsweek. "There's a widespread belief that 'it won't happen to me,' which leads to complacency." Additionally, Credle said, many homeowners don't really know what steps are needed to be truly prepared for their homes being struck by an extreme weather event. "Emergency planning, structural reinforcements, and policy reviews aren't part of everyday conversations, so people tend to delay or ignore them. In some cases, the information is available, but it's confusing or too technical, making it hard to act on," Credle explained. An 'Outdated' Sense Of Safety The survey found that nearly half of all homeowners (46 percent) who had not taken any protective steps believed their homes were not at risk because they lived in a safe area of the country. But with the climate crisis changing the traditional rules of the game, this assumption is "increasingly dangerous and outdated," Credle said. "The weather no longer sticks to predictable zones. Relying on old assumptions leaves homeowners vulnerable. Skipping insurance reviews or home upgrades because 'it probably won't happen here' can turn into a very costly mistake," she added. "Today, being prepared means taking action ahead of time. It's not about whether something will happen anymore; it's about when." Dr. Shane Crawford of the University of Alabama said that, "although some areas are more at risk for certain types of natural hazard, there is no area in the country with zero risk." The West Lags Behind Across the U.S., most homeowners feel least prepared to face earthquakes (44 percent), tornadoes (37 percent) and wildfires (35 percent). The least prepared homeowners in the entire nation are concentrated in the West, according to the Guardian Service survey, despite the fact that they face some of the most serious natural disaster threats in the nation—wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and even mudslides. Forty percent of them feel they are unprepared for earthquakes, 39 percent said they are not ready to face tornadoes, 29 percent said they are not ready for wildfires and 28 percent are unprepared for hurricanes. "One big reason is that disaster risks out West are complex and often overlapping, which can make it overwhelming to know where to start," Credle said. Another challenge, she added, is that earthquake insurance is not normally included in standard home policies, forcing homeowners to either add an endorsement to cover earthquake damage—which would likely raise their premium—or buy an entire earthquake policy separately. "Many homeowners either don't realize this or assume it's too expensive to be worth it," Credle said. "Insurance availability is also shrinking in high-risk parts of the West, especially areas prone to wildfires." Several major insurers have pulled out of the California market over the past five years, or raised their premiums, according to data from regulators, leaving homeowners scrambling for coverage or forcing them into much more expensive options. Homeowners in the Midwest feel least prepared for earthquakes (42 percent), hurricanes (40 percent), wildfires (38 percent), tornadoes (36 percent) and flooding (20 percent). Those in the Northeast feel least prepared for earthquakes (51 percent), tornadoes (46 percent), wildfires (35 percent), hurricanes (27 percent) and flooding (24 percent). Homeowners in the South feel least prepared for earthquakes (42 percent), wildfires (36 percent), tornadoes (31 percent), hurricanes (29 percent), flooding (24 percent) and winter storms and blizzards (24 percent). What Risks Do Unprepared Homeowners Face? Being unprepared for extreme weather can be financially tough, forcing homeowners to take out money they don't have for repairs—especially if they find out their insurance won't cover all their losses. "Many people don't realize that standard policies often don't cover flood damage, and some deductibles are based on a percentage of your home's value—meaning you could be on the hook for thousands before coverage even kicks in," Credle said. "And it's not just about money. The stress of losing your home, dealing with insurance delays, or being displaced for weeks or months takes a serious emotional toll." According to a recent study by the Insurance Information Institute and reinsurance company Munich Re, about 88 percent of U.S. homeowners have property insurance, but only about 6 percent have flood coverage. A majority of those who have flood insurance are concentrated in the most at-risk coastal areas, but experts said that the threat of flooding is hardly limited to these parts of the country. "Lack of flood coverage is the biggest insurance gap across the country," Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute previously told Newsweek. "As we saw last year with Hurricane Helene, inland flooding can be catastrophic from a landfalling hurricane. Ninety percent of U.S. catastrophes involve flooding," he said. "This is why flood insurance is essential for all residents, not just in coastal communities." Tom Larsen, AVP of product marketing for insurance at Cotality, previously told Newsweek that this hurricane season the U.S. is facing the threat of "wind damage from hurricane-force winds threatening tens of millions of properties" and storm-surge flooding "that could inundate more than six million homes," as well as washed-out roads, disabled municipal water systems and overwhelmed power and wastewater networks in affected states.
