Insurers accused of rigging Sandy flood claims with slanted reports, but evidence is elusive
Insurers accused of rigging Sandy flood claims with slanted reports, but evidence is elusive

By DAVID B. CARUSO and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — When Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, flood insurance companies working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatched an army of structural engineers to do some detective work.Their assignment: Find out how much…
UP’s Resiliency Check List 2015
UP’s Resiliency Check List 2015

  Stock UP (your emergency kit): Add a portable charger for your cell phone. Call UP your insurer; confirm you’re properly covered: Find out how on our website.  Like UP: Spread the word. www.facebook.com/UPhelp Tally UP: Download the free UPHelp Home Inventory at the App store and…
Smart Insurance Math
Smart Insurance Math

With the exception of a health insurance policy, where a high deductible can give you pain in the pocketbook all year long, raising the deductible in your home, car, business, or renter’s policy is smart insurance math. A higher deductible lowers the cost of your…
The Insurance Market Mystifies an Airbnb Host
The Insurance Market Mystifies an Airbnb Host

So let’s say you decided to place your home or a few rooms inside it among the million-plus listings that the rental site Airbnb now claims to have. And let’s also say that you’re the rule-abiding sort and find the part of the company’s website…
“Use it and lose it” is a very serious threat to the integrity of our insurance system
“Use it and lose it” is a very serious threat to the integrity of our insurance system

This recent “Share Your Story” email to UP from a Wyoming consumer captures how the “use it and lose it” phenomenon is one of the most serious threats to the integrity of the insurance system today. “We had a fire two years ago. It started…
Helping New Jersey residents get fair insurance settlements for Sandy damage
Helping New Jersey residents get fair insurance settlements for Sandy damage

Our ongoing work helping New Jersey homeowners get fair insurance settlements for Sandy damage includes: Distributing sample letters and tips for appealing a claim denial and getting a supplemental claim approved for payment and guiding homeowners and the local aid workers engaged in the long term recovery…
FEMA says it is investigating allegations of falsified Sandy engineering reports
FEMA says it is investigating allegations of falsified Sandy engineering reports

By JOE RYAN joe.ryan@newsday.com An attorney for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Tuesday said the organization was investigating allegations that engineering reports were secretly rewritten after superstorm Sandy to deny claims on government-funded flood insurance policies.FEMA associate general counsel Jordan Fried told a panel of…
FEMA RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS FROM SANDY VICTIMS, AGREEING TO CONSIDER REFORMS
FEMA RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS FROM SANDY VICTIMS, AGREEING TO CONSIDER REFORMS

Agency announces plan of action, including new advocate, and will reopen nearly 300 closed claimsMonths of pressure from storm survivors and lawmakers in New Jersey and New York culminated Friday with the Federal Emergency Management Agency committing to reform key parts of the National Flood…
Win for California Policyholders on Replacement Cost
Win for California Policyholders on Replacement Cost

In its November 24, 2014 decision, the California Court of Appeal First District, Division One, reversed a judgment notwithstanding the verdict that an insurer owes a duty to its insured to communicate policy requirements and settle claims fairly. In Stephens & Stephens XII LLC v. Fireman’s Fund Ins.…
Three Tidings to Cheer – Amicus Project UPdate
Three Tidings to Cheer – Amicus Project UPdate

Glad tidings…three consumer wins for the Amicus Project: Allstate Property and Casualty Co. v. Jared Wolfe The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled 5-1 in favor of the position we took as a friend of the court, concluding that statutory bad faith damages may be assigned…
Purely a bad idea – “Purely Cosmetic” Exclusion
Purely a bad idea – “Purely Cosmetic” Exclusion

Thanks for giving: Your ideas and your skills Thanks for putting UP in your wills! Thanks for the info, donations and scoop Thanks to those who keep us in the loop Now here’s our tip for the month of November A question we want you…
Bach Talk – The “Purely Cosmetic Damage” exclusion’s gonna be ugly
Bach Talk – The “Purely Cosmetic Damage” exclusion’s gonna be ugly

Thanks to a consumer participation program offered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, I get up close and personal with the nation’s top insurance regulators three times a year.  I’m in my seventh year as an official representative of consumers at the NAIC, and…
What a weekend!
What a weekend!

The UP Team was out and about on Saturday participating in three educational events in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego. In San Francisco, UP Executive Director Amy Bach and Staff Attorney Dan Wade joined the Consumer Attorneys of California at their Annual Convention. UP organized…
Bach Talk – Appropriately regulating Uber and Lyft
Bach Talk – Appropriately regulating Uber and Lyft

Residents of cities throughout the US now have the option to “Uber” or “Lyft” their way to a destination instead of taking a traditional taxicab.  These innovative, tech-sector start-up businesses are labeled “Transportation Network Companies”, (“TNCs”).  Initially, TNCs avoided having to comply with many of…
Bach Talk – Biased expert reports plague policyholders
Bach Talk – Biased expert reports plague policyholders

United States Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown issued a very important decision in a Superstorm Sandy case in November, 2014 that addresses a chronic problem for the policyholders UP serves:  A practice by some insurers of rejecting damage claims based on engineering reports that have…
More than the minimum
More than the minimum

The case against purchasing only your state’s mandatory minimum liability insurance limits: Starting in the 1920s, all but one state in the United States (New Hampshire) have passed laws requiring that vehicle owners maintain automobile liability insurance to cover their liabilities for personal injuries or…
Governor’s request for Presidential Disaster Declaration for Puna lava flow approved
Governor’s request for Presidential Disaster Declaration for Puna lava flow approved

PAHOA, HAWAII (HawaiiNewsNow) – In response to Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Oct. 24 request for federal aid to supplement local emergency protective measures in response to the June 27th lava flow, President Barack Obama today signed a Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance.This will provide federal funding…
Bach Talk – The Powerful Voice of Experience
Bach Talk – The Powerful Voice of Experience

A backbone of our Roadmap to Recovery program are the volunteers and staff members who got involved with UP to make constructive use of the knowledge they themselves gained while navigating the recovery process after a catastrophic loss.  Our Survivor’s Speak publication series, workshop speakers…