Consumer News: Inflation continues to linger at the grocery store

Keep coverage continuous where possible, state says

• State urges carriers to avoid non-renewals and cancellations for condo master policies while repairs are underway

• Guidance follows complaints from associations receiving termination notices after springfall severe storms

• Protections remain tied to Missouris storm-related state of emergency, now extended through Dec. 31

Homeowners sometimes breathe a sigh of relief when they move into a condo, thinking that their maintenance and insurance troubles are over. But with increasing frequency, they're learning that condo complexes aren't immune from insurance issues. In Missouri, hit by severe storms this year, insurance regulators are warning carriers not to cancel or non-renew master policies for condominium complexesdamaged in the severe storms, citing ongoing repairs and unresolved claims across the state.

In a Nov. 4 addendum, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) said it has received multiple complaints from condo associations reporting non-renewal or cancellation notices for their master policiesthe policies held by an owners associationdistinct from individual condo unit HO-6 policies. The bulletin instructs insurers to avoid adverse actions while properties are still navigating claims and construction.

The department understands these condominiums are still in the process of negotiating their damage claims with their insurance companies or are in the process of completing repairs, the bulletin states.

Addendum builds on earlier storm guidance

The new directive builds on an Oct. 16 DCI bulletin that told insurers to allow homeowners a reasonable amount of time to complete necessary repairs before taking adverse underwriting actions such as cancellations or non-renewals. DCI clarified that the same expectations apply to master policies issued to condominiumsnot just individual homeowners.

Delays and debris are slowing recovery

Property owners across Missouri have faced extended repair timelines driven largely by contractor backlogs and supply chain issues, the department said. In St. Louis, debris management has added another hurdle, complicating roof work and exterior reconstruction and further pushing schedules.

Protections tied to the state of emergency

Missouri has been under a state of emergency for severe weather that began March 14. DCI said its request that insurers refrain from canceling or non-renewing policies covering damaged residential property will remain in place for at least as long as the emergency order is active. The proclamation is currently set to expire Dec. 31 unless Gov. Mike Kehoe extends it further.

Keep coverage continuous where possible, DCI says

For policies that have not yet expired or terminated, DCI expects insurers to take necessary actions to ensure coverage remains continuously in force, according to the Nov. 4 addendum.

For situations where coverage ended before either the Oct. 16 or Nov. 4 bulletins were issued, the department urged carriers to consider the individual facts and circumstances and use their best judgment in extending or otherwise reinstating coverage. That language signals flexibility for associations that may have fallen into a coverage gap during the peak of post-storm disruption.

Insurers may need to explain denials

DCI also put carriers on notice that if consumers escalate disputes, the departments Consumer Affairs Division can request a written explanation of why coverage was not extended or reinstated. That case-by-case scrutiny could become a lever for associations seeking temporary continuity while roofs, siding, and common-area systems are brought back to pre-loss condition.

Why it matters for condo associations

Master policy cancellations can leave associations exposed to financing and compliance risks, since lenders and governing documents typically require continuous coverage for shared property and liability. Even short lapses can jeopardize reserves-funded repairs or force costly surplus-lines placements. By signaling a pause on adverse actions during active repairs and claim negotiations, DCIs guidance aims to stabilize the insurance footing of complexes still digging out from this years storms.

Whats next: Condo boards should keep detailed documentation of repair timelines, contractor bids, materials delays, and claim correspondence. If a non-renewal or cancellation notice arrives despite the bulletins, associations can cite the Oct. 16 and Nov. 4 guidance and, if needed, file a complaint with DCIs Consumer Affairs Division to trigger a review of the carriers decision.

But some markets favor military vets more than others

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Just 21.8% of U.S. home listings are affordable to the typical veteran using a VA loan, compared to 26.5% for veterans using conventional loans.

• Affordability is improving slightly, thanks to lower mortgage rates and rising incomes.

• Veterans could afford more than half of listings in 2015, showing how dramatically housing affordability has eroded over the past decade.

Home affordability remains a major challenge for millions of would-be buyers, especially military veterans. A new report from real estate brokerage Redfin finds that just over one in five U.S. home listings are affordable for the typical military veteran using a VA loan a sign of how far housing affordability has slipped since the mid-2010s.

While affordability remains tight, the market has shown modest improvement compared to last year, offering a glimmer of hope to veteran homebuyers.

Nationwide, 21.8% of listings are affordable to the typical veteran using a VA loan, up from 20.2% in 2023. For veterans using conventional loans, 26.5% of listings are within reach, up from 25.5% last year the lowest level ever recorded.

The trend mirrors whats happening for non-veteran buyers, with 22.8% of listings affordable for households using a conventional loan, up slightly from 21.7% in 2024.

The small gains come as mortgage rates and housing costs stabilize. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has dipped from 6.81% in 2023 to 6.66% today, while home-sale prices have largely plateaued. Meanwhile, rising incomes up roughly 10% for both veterans and non-veterans since 2023 are helping more buyers qualify for homes.

Why VA borrowers still face challenges

VA loans, designed to help veterans buy homes with little or no down payment, come with tradeoffs. While they typically carry lower interest rates and no private mortgage insurance, 90% of VA borrowers make no down payment, which raises monthly costs.

VA loans provide a great opportunity for first-time veteran homebuyers to purchase a home without the substantial down payment thats required of most buyers these days, said Redfin economist Grishma Bhattarai. It allows them to get their foot in the homeownership door and start building equity, but it comes with the tradeoff of a bigger loan and higher monthly costs.

Even so, VA loans are becoming slightly more common. In August, 7.3% of mortgaged homebuyers used a VA loan, up from 6.5% a year earlier the highest share for that month in six years. The uptick may reflect sellers becoming more willing to accept offers from VA buyers in todays slower market.

A decade of declining affordability

The contrast between todays housing market and that of a decade ago is stark. In 2015, a veteran using a VA loan could afford 53% of all U.S. home listings. Today, that figure has fallen to less than half that level.

Home prices have roughly doubled over the past 10 years, while incomes have risen far more slowly. The typical veteran household now earns about $85,955, up 48% since 2015, while non-veteran incomes have grown 54%.

Thats far short of the pace of home-price growth, which surged during the pandemic amid record-low mortgage rates and remote work trends.

Some metro areas remain relatively affordable for veterans. Detroit tops the list, where 60% of listings are affordable to a typical veteran using a VA loan, followed by San Antonio (53.4%), Cleveland (48.3%), Pittsburgh (43.6%), and Baltimore (42.7%).

In these regions, home prices are significantly lower the median Detroit home sold for about $215,000 in September.

On the other hand, California remains nearly out of reach. Veterans using VA loans can afford less than 1% of listings in San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and only around 2% in San Diego and Anaheim, where home prices regularly top $1 million.

The House may vote on the measure Wednesday

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The United States Senate voted 6040 late Monday night to approve a short-term funding bill aimed at ending the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

• The legislation, a bipartisan compromise, will fund most federal agencies through January 30, 2026, and combine three full-year spending bills with a stopgap extension.

• The deal notably does not include an extension of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health-insurance credits a major sticking point for many Democrats setting up further acrimony within the party.
  

After 41 days of a federal government shutdown that furloughed workers and snarled air travel, the Senate late Monday night sent to the House a funding package that, if approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Trump, would reopen large swaths of the federal government.

The deal cleared the chamber with the minimum 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster, thanks to eight Democrats joining virtually all Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) declared: The time to act is now, underscoring the urgency of restoring operations, paying federal workers and halting further disruptions.

What the bill does

• Funds most federal agencies and programs until Jan. 30, 2026, providing much-needed relief to furloughed or unpaid federal employees.

• Includes full-year appropriations for certain key programs, including military construction and veterans health care.

• Reverses mass firings of federal workers initiated during the shutdown and provides for back-pay.

The bill now faces a vote in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson says a vote could come as soon as Wednesday. The measure must pass the House before heading to the Presidents desk.

Officials say that even after funding is restored and federal employees especially air traffic controllers receive back-pay, the system wont snap immediately back to full capacity. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy specifically said it could take days, if not a week for travel operations to stabilize after the shutdown ends.

Some commercial aviation experts caution that while major delays and cancellations may diminish within days, normal flight schedules, full staffing, and smooth airport operations may take longer, particularly given the backlog of adjustments.

Companies make it easy to sign up and weirdly hard to quit

• Scan 6090 days of card/bank statements and make a hit list of anything recurring, vague, or annual you cant cancel what you forgot exists

• Always cancel where you signed up (Apple, Google Play, website) and look for turn off auto-renew or cancel at end of period, then screenshot the confirmation

• Start a fake cancel many services throw out wait, want 20% off? offers in the cancel flow, so you can keep the service but at alower rate

Somewhere right now, your credit card is renewing a streaming service you dont watch or a workout app you havent touched since February. None of this was intentional. Its just what happens when companies make signing up stupid-easy and canceling slightly annoying. Heres how to stop paying for the stuff you meant to cancel, and how to shut down the ones that play hard to get.

Start with a subscription audit

Its very hard to cancel the services youve completely forgotten about. So, before you can cancel anything, you have to know exactly what youre paying for.

• Start by opening your bank or credit card app and look at the last 6090 days.
• I always like to write down anything on the statement that looks like one of these: recurring, APP*, Digital, or a name you dont recognize.
• Also, dont forget about your annual services (password managers, antivirus, cloud storage) as they can often be the sneakiest.

Now youve got a hit list to work with.

Turn off auto-renew everywhere

Most of the time, you dont need to fully close the account, you just need to stop it from renewing every month or year.

For each service you want to cancel do the following:

• Go into account billing manage plan.
• Look for turn off auto-renew, cancel at end of period, or dont renew.
• Screenshot it. Save the email. If they end up billing you again, you have proof that they shouldnt have.

If you cant find billing inside the app, log-in ona laptop or desktop computer. Often times companies will sneakily hide the real cancel tools there instead of on their app.

Pro tip: Renewal emails love to say stuff like Your benefits are continuing or An update to your account instead of Were charging you $59.99 tomorrow. So be sure to open those boring, vague emails and search for words like renewal, next billing date, or will be charged.

Cancel through the same platform you used to subscribe

This is a big one that many people miss and can cause a lot of frustration.

• If you subscribed through Apple, you have to cancel in Apple.
• If you subscribed through Google Play, cancel in Google Play.
• If you subscribed on the company website, cancel on the website.

For example, if you signed up for Paramount+ through Apple, you have to cancel it in your Apple subscriptions.

If you try to cancel on Paramounts website instead, theyll say they never got the cancellation and youll keep getting charged. Always cancel where you started.

Beat retention tricks

Some services dont say cancel. Instead, theyll say something like pause, downgrade, or keep 30 days free. Those are all classic stall tactics.

Scroll down until you see wording like end membership, do not renew, or cancel immediately. If all you see is pause, go ahead and do it so they stop billing you right now. Then go back into your account after a few days and the full cancel option will typically appear.

Do this when they make you call or chat

Some companies still force you to talk to a human so they can talk you out of cancelling. You might not have a choice but to play along, sobe sure to leave a trail.

• Ask, Can you confirm this is canceled today?
• Get the confirmation number or email while youre still in chat.
• Save the transcript or take screenshots.

Now if they bill you again, you can go to your card and say, I canceled on X date and heres my proof.

Use your credit card as your backup plan

Think of this as your safety net.

If youve tried to cancel and they keep billing you, dispute the charge with your card or bank and tell them its an unauthorized recurring payment.

Amazingly, banks see this all the time. You can also use a virtual card (Privacy, Capital One Eno, some bank apps) which have spending limits attached so a subscription cant suddenly double on you.

Set a reminder the day you start a free trial

Most ugh, I forgot to cancel charges happen 730 days after you start a new subscription.

So, when you start a trial, set a calendar reminder on your phone for 2-3 days before it renews. Literally name it: Cancel Paramount+ or whatever.

If the service wont tell you the renewal date clearly, thats a big red flag in my book. I recommend cancelling right away and resubscribe later if you still want it.

Make it harder for subscriptions to get you

Ive discovered two easy habits to make sure I dont overspend on subscriptions I never use.

• Keep all subscriptions on one credit card so you can scan one statement quickly.
• Before you cancel, drop to the cheapest version. A lot of services will surface the real cancel button only after you downgrade, and if you end up needing it again, youre paying less in the meantime.

Dont actually cancel and save money in the process

A lot subscriptions will offer you a discount when you first hit the "cancel" button. They don't want to lose your business and will often throw you a bone to keep you paying.

So if you pay for a subscription that you actually use, but it's a little more than you want to pay, give this a shot. The good part is they'll typically tell you about the discount before you have to hit the "finalizeyour cancellation" button giving you time to back out.