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…
ServiceMaster and Water Damage Claims
ServiceMaster and Water Damage Claims

Couple Recalls ‘Leaky Toilet Nightmare’What started out as a leaky toilet turned into a local couple’s worst nightmare. They got into a battle with their insurance company and are now suing.It is a case their attorney says could affect hundreds of thousands of homeowners.Ora Tamir…
Retirees Stung by ‘Universal Life’ Cost
Retirees Stung by ‘Universal Life’ Cost

By LESLIE SCISM, The Wall Street Journal Updated Aug. 9, 2015 10:02 p.m.Retired high-school teacher Nicholas Vertullo long felt confident that his wife, Grace, wouldn’t have to pinch pennies after he died. Nearly three decades ago, he bought a $238,000 life-insurance policy, and later bought…
Things are looking UP – Advocacy and Action UPdate
Things are looking UP – Advocacy and Action UPdate

UP aids in landmark ruling for Pennsylvania policyholders The main purpose of liability insurance is to defend, protect and cover you if you get the scary and expensive news that you’ve been named in a lawsuit. The vast majority of lawsuits get resolved through settlements, not…
BACH TALK: Annuity “Whack-a-Mole”
BACH TALK: Annuity “Whack-a-Mole”

It seems like every time you turn around, insurers are peddling a new type of super-complicated annuity whose internal levers and formulae make it virtually impossible that the buyer will collect the promised benefits in their lifetime: Equity-indexed annuities, Medically Underwritten Annuities, Contingent Deferred Annuities…the list goes…