Challenging insurers’ hired guns – Bach Talk
Challenging insurers’ hired guns – Bach Talk

When you buy insurance, you pay for coverage and good service if and when you file a claim.  Good claim service includes estimating the extent and value of your claim fairly and promptly. Insurance company claim adjusters often bring in outside experts to inspect and give their…
Hot at the NAIC – Bach Talk
Hot at the NAIC – Bach Talk

The business of insurance is primarily regulated by individual states with a minimal amount of oversight by the Federal Government.  State regulators coordinate with each other through an organization called The National Association of Insurance Commissioners.  Three times a year, the NAIC hosts a conference…
Thanks Mom and Dad!
Thanks Mom and Dad!

One of the first pieces of the Affordable Care Act to take effect was the rule that lets young adults stay insured under their parent’s health plan until they turn 26. This has been a huge help to many families. But when a dependent ages…
FEMA’s Sandy Flood Insurance Review Taking Longer Than Expected
FEMA’s Sandy Flood Insurance Review Taking Longer Than Expected

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s review of Superstorm Sandy flood insurance claims is taking longer than expected, with fewer than 200 checks issued. FEMA announced in March the review for as many as 142,000 claims after homeowners complained they were shortchanged. A FEMA official expected…
Gulf Coast Insurance UPrising
Gulf Coast Insurance UPrising

Vacant homes, “For Sale” signs, public protests, and media coverage over the past ten years are the visible signs that home and business owners in Eastern and Southern coastal areas are really struggling to pay their rising insurance premiums.  The cost of home insurance in…
El Niño El Uh Oh
El Niño El Uh Oh

East Coasters and Mexican citizens breathed sighs of relief at Joaquin and Patricia’s relatively moderate impact, but West Coast residents continue to brace for predicted heavy El Niño rains this winter. Recent mudflows stranded hundreds of cars in the Los Angeles area. Buy sandbags and…
What’s the point? A “use it and lose it” UPdate
What’s the point? A “use it and lose it” UPdate

Most people pay their home, business, and renters insurance premiums for years and years without ever having a loss or using the policy they’re paying for.  Yet even people who’ve had a long claim-free record are finding that after they do suffer a loss and…
Storm of Money
Storm of Money

Special report from the Post and Courier on hurricanes, insurance, and the black boxes that determine how much you pay.
Butte Fire Workshop: October 14th at 6pm
Butte Fire Workshop: October 14th at 6pm

UP is hosting a Roadmap to Recovery workshop for Butte Fire survivors Wednesday, October 14th at 6pm at Mountain Ranch Town Hall. This workshop is an insurance recovery orientation and will provide information on navigating the insurance claim process. There will be a Q&A session after the workshop if…
Valley Fire Workshop: October 8th at 6pm
Valley Fire Workshop: October 8th at 6pm

UP is hosting a Roadmap to Recovery workshop for Valley Fire survivors this Thursday at 6pm at Middletown High School. This workshop is an insurance recovery orientation and will provide information on navigating the insurance claim process. There will be a Q&A session after the workshop if you have…
Reflections from a post-wildfire Local Assistance Center
Reflections from a post-wildfire Local Assistance Center

Over the past month, UP has been engaged with recovery efforts for the Valley and Butte Fires. I and other staff members and volunteers have sat across the table from countless fire survivors who lost everything, trying our best to give them some hope that they will…
A pictorial journey of recovery
A pictorial journey of recovery

Follow UP Outreach Coordinator Karen Reimus’ pictorial journey of recovery from the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego, California.
A flood insurance fix is imperative – We have to do better
A flood insurance fix is imperative – We have to do better

Superstorm Sandy hit New York City’s many low-lying areas hard and was a wake-up call for residents and public officials.  Flooding is a serious risk in the entire New York Metropolitan area, and most people are not prepared.  Mandating more people to buy flood insurance…
Paying more than just attention
Paying more than just attention

Our recent conversations with wildfire evacuees and people who’ve just lost everything inspired us to restate: Recovering from a loss without (any or enough) insurance is a very bleak prospect. If a disaster is officially declared federal, the average FEMA grant to an individual is…
Price Optimization: Pennsylvania is the Latest State to Prohibit the Practice While the NAIC Works Towards a Final White Paper
Price Optimization: Pennsylvania is the Latest State to Prohibit the Practice While the NAIC Works Towards a Final White Paper

Published August 27, 2015, by Susan Stryker “Price optimization,” a long-established economic concept, generally refers to the application of mathematical techniques using data to address pricing at a more granular level. Price optimization in property and casualty insurance ratemaking, or what has been referred to…
Give it back? Homeowners who got Hurricane Sandy repair funds may have to repay ‘Build It Back’ money
Give it back? Homeowners who got Hurricane Sandy repair funds may have to repay ‘Build It Back’ money

Sandy-ravaged homeowners who got “Build It Back” funds for repairs might have to repay the money because of Draconian HUD rules — even though federal bungling is what drove many to the program in the first place. As many as 3,000 homeowners — one-third of…
Statement of California Health Advocates and United Policyholders
Statement of California Health Advocates and United Policyholders

Public Hearing: Minnesota Department of Commerce – Long-Term Care – Rate Increases and Policyholder Protections In late August, 2015, the Minnesota Department of Commerce convened a hearing to assist the Department’s fact-finding effort on long-term care insurance industry issues. The hearing provided consumers, insurance companies, and other…
What does my credit rating have to do with my driving?
What does my credit rating have to do with my driving?

Most auto-insurance companies use your consumer credit rating as a significant factor in determining what rate to charge you.Who knew?Maybe you. But two-thirds of customers didn’t know, according to a Government Accountability Office survey. Spokesman Mike Barry of the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade…