Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities Recap
Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities Recap

On Tuesday, October 30, 2018 the California Senate Insurance Committee and Assembly Insurance Committee held an informational hearing, “Wildfires and Insurance: Recovery of Impacted Communities” at Napa Valley College. The hearing focused on rebuilding after the 2017 wildfires that destroyed over 6,000 homes in the…
Fall 2018 Newsletter
Fall 2018 Newsletter

Extreme weather, wildfires, hurricanes and torrential rains are impacting a growing number of homes and businesses across our country. Collecting insurance funds for repairs and rebuilding can be very challenging. Demand for our services is growing, as is our national reputation as a trustworthy source…
In praise of a policyholder hero – Cal Thur
In praise of a policyholder hero – Cal Thur

Chip Merlin, a policyholder hero himself, alerted me that we’ve recently lost a champion – Cal Thur.  I was introduced to Cal by the late, great Eugene Anderson many moons ago, and he was an important United Policyholders volunteer and supporter. Cal was a highly…
Roadmap to Recovery focuses on Paying the Bills
Roadmap to Recovery focuses on Paying the Bills

On Wednesday, November 7th at 6pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 547 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa, United Policyholders hosted our 17th public Roadmap to Recovery workshop for people impacted by the devastating 2017 wildfires.  Our panel of experts featured local officials and experts in…
What’s behind your insurer’s brand curtain?
What’s behind your insurer’s brand curtain?

Brand names matter to consumers, and that includes insurance company brands.  Consumers seek out company names they recognize and associate with reliability, especially when insuring a home, which for most people is their biggest asset. As a brand name, Lloyd’s of London is generally very…
UP on panel at joint Senate/Assembly Hearing on Post-Wildfire Insurance Issues
UP on panel at joint Senate/Assembly Hearing on Post-Wildfire Insurance Issues

On Tuesday, October 30th, 2018 UP Executive Director Amy Bach will be on the speaker panel at a joint public hearing at Napa Valley College convened by the California Senate and Insurance Committees to examine root causes and potential solutions for solving the post-wildfire underinsurance…
Climate change and tech innovation: An imperative for the insurance industry to adapt responsibly
Climate change and tech innovation: An imperative for the insurance industry to adapt responsibly

There is no shortage of opinions and predictions about how climate change and the tech explosion will reshape the insurance landscape as we know it.  Here are just a few of the predictions we’re hearing: “Insurance deserts will proliferate” (regions where people and businesses can’t…
Trick or treat…what’s in yours?
Trick or treat…what’s in yours?

Make sure your policy has more treats than tricks! The only thing scarier than how devastating the last year has been with wildfires, lava, flooding and hurricanes is language we’ve been finding buried in some of the insurance policies that impacted people have been showing…
What’s UP? Fall 2018
What’s UP? Fall 2018

BACH TALK A message from Co-Founder and Executive Director, Amy Bach Scaling UP: Extreme weather, wildfires and torrential rains are impacting a growing number of homes and businesses across our country. Collecting insurance funds for repairs and rebuilding can be very challenging. Demand for our services…
How claims SHOULD be handled
How claims SHOULD be handled

Although this is an insurance company advertisement, and the policyholder is clearly reading from a script presumably written by the insurance company, it highlights how claims should be handled, and how they shouldn’t.  We at UP fully recognize that catastrophe claims put strains on insurance company resources, and…
Guest Blog: The Supreme Court of FL Rules in Favor of Policyholder on Application of Florida’s Bad Faith Law
Guest Blog: The Supreme Court of FL Rules in Favor of Policyholder on Application of Florida’s Bad Faith Law

By Molly Chafe Brockmeyer, Esq., Boyle & Leonard, P.A., Ft. Meyers, FL. UP Volunteer On September 20, 2018, in a case where UP weighed in as amicus curiae, the Supreme Court of Florida issued its opinion, affirming Florida’s long held bad faith precedent.  The state’s high…
CA legislature enacts helpful insurance reforms
CA legislature enacts helpful insurance reforms

The California legislature, after hard work by North Bay lawmakers, the Department of Insurance, concerned citizens, and United Policyholders enacted several useful insurance-related bills this session that are awaiting the Governor’s signature. Although retroactivity provisions were removed, (which means victims of the 2017 wildfires can only use them indirectly as…
Guest Blog: Policyholder Victories Underscore Value of Crime Insurance for Cyber Fraud
Guest Blog: Policyholder Victories Underscore Value of Crime Insurance for Cyber Fraud

If you suffer a theft at the hands of a cybercriminal, promptly check your insurance protection — particularly your crime insurance. Two major federal court cases decided this summer reaffirm the protection many policyholders already have available to them for cyber scams. With cybercrime rampant,…
Slow as molasses in January? MS residents deserve insurance fairness
Slow as molasses in January? MS residents deserve insurance fairness

After Hurricane Katrina decimated communities in his home state of Mississippi, concerned citizen Kevin Buckel was outraged to learn that the average insurance payout to the victims was only $15,000 – far below what people needed to repair, rebuild and recover.  He looked around at…
Guest Blog: Room for improvement in Michigan, Professor Jay Feinman
Guest Blog: Room for improvement in Michigan, Professor Jay Feinman

United Policyholders (UP) and the Rutgers Center for Risk and Responsibility are partners in an Essential Protections Project (EPP).  We compiled an extensive database of state law and made recommendations for reforms. The goal of EPP is to give lawmakers templates for legislation that will protect…
UP to FEMA – Please extend Harvey and Irma deadlines
UP to FEMA – Please extend Harvey and Irma deadlines

On August 22, 2018, United Policyholders asked the top brass at FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program to give hurricane-impacted residents until the end of this year to fully document their 2017 Harvey and Irma damage claims and collect all flood insurance benefits owed…
Third Lava Lawsuit Filed Against Lloyd’s of London
Third Lava Lawsuit Filed Against Lloyd’s of London

Two homes are consumed by the massive flow and a third is threatened as the lava advances downslope. PC: Paradise Helicopters/ExtremeExposure/Bruce Omori Another lava lawsuit has been filed against Lloyd’s of London, according to Hawai‘i Attorney Jeffrey Foster, who is representing Susie Osborne, the founder…
Roadmap to Recovery: Getting Results
Roadmap to Recovery: Getting Results

The North Bay wildfire recovery truly is a marathon – and we are all in it together.  We have passed the 6-month marker and are continuing on the road to recovery. Our six-month survey results show the pace of recovery: 80% of survey respondents have NOT settled…