Dark Water: A Year After Hurricane Sandy
Dark Water: A Year After Hurricane Sandy

LONG BEACH, N.Y. — In lines at the grocery store and the post office here, the usual pleasantries are still squeezed out by talk of the slow pace of reconstruction, spiking flood insurance premiums and whether the hospital, movie theater or sports club will ever…
Flood insurance program extends Proof of Loss deadline for Sandy claims
Flood insurance program extends Proof of Loss deadline for Sandy claims

On October 1st, 2013, the National Flood Insurance Program extended the deadline for filing Superstorm Sandy proofs of loss for another 6 months past the current October 28th, 2013 deadline. United Policyholders commends the program for giving this much needed breathing room to property owners.…
Raising the roof on home insurance fine print
Raising the roof on home insurance fine print

Dean Jarvis is a State Farm agent in Tennessee who believes that home insurance should protect a person’s home.  He’s blown the whistle on a reduced coverage product that Allstate rolled out in Oklahoma and has now gotten the OK to sell in many other…
A Flood of Hurt
A Flood of Hurt

While listening to a speaker at the First Party Claims Conference in Rhode Island last October I vowed to bone up on flood insurance.  I’d been marginally involved with state regulators at the NAIC in examining efforts to reform the National Flood Insurance program (NFIP).  UP had…
Manitou business owners wade through muck to assess losses
Manitou business owners wade through muck to assess losses

More than 20 businesses suffered losses from the flood that swept through Manitou Springs on Friday and owners say some may not reopen for up to two weeks as they clean up damage. Many of the shops in the 700 block of Manitou Avenue and…
Lack of insurance an issue after Manitou flood
Lack of insurance an issue after Manitou flood

Many of the businesses in Manitou Springs that suffered losses in Friday’s devastating flood didn’t have flood insurance because they couldn’t get it for their location or couldn’t afford it, said an official from iManitou, the city’s chamber of commerce, economic development office and visitor’s…
A Healthy Attitude
A Healthy Attitude

Today is a big day in the health insurance world. People with no insurance or who need to change their coverage can now start researching new plan options. As this phase of the Affordable Care Act takes effect, do your best to get information from…
Outrage as Homeowners Prepare for Substantially Higher Flood Insurance Rates
Outrage as Homeowners Prepare for Substantially Higher Flood Insurance Rates
DON’T BOTHER…DO BOTHER
DON’T BOTHER…DO BOTHER

When buying rental car insurance: Don’t bother checking the “yes” box and paying for Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage if you’ve got a credit card that offers that same coverage. Most credit cards provide that insurance to their cardholders free of charge as long as…
FEMA to Buy Out One Home on Old York Road
FEMA to Buy Out One Home on Old York Road

The township is changing its agreement with the NJDEP Blue Acres Program for the purchase and demolition of two homes on Old York Road along the Raritan River Floodway—because only one is now being accepted into the program.This program concerns the buy-out and demolition of…
Flashpoint: Living with wildfire
Flashpoint: Living with wildfire
Businesses pushing to settle claims from Sandy
Businesses pushing to settle claims from Sandy

Linda Schwartz had been running her Mexican restaurant for 29 years when it became a casualty of Hurricane Sandy.Schwartz waited out the storm in her Dennis Township home, confident that she had done what she could to safeguard her Avalon business, Tortilla Flats, by moving…
Group vex: Is one enough?
Group vex: Is one enough?

If you depend on your earned income and want to build yourself a safety net, you can buy long term disability (LTD) insurance that will replace that income if you become ill or injured and unable to work. You can buy it as an individual…
Guest Blog: Unpaid Life Insurance Benefits Investigation Passes 1 billion dollars (yes, billion!)
Guest Blog: Unpaid Life Insurance Benefits Investigation Passes 1 billion dollars (yes, billion!)

The New York Department of Financial Services has issued a final report on their investigation into unpaid benefits for consumers at life insurance companies.  The report showed that the investigation recovered more than $1.1 billion in unpaid life insurance benefits for consumers nationwide and that…
Tracking Down Life Insurance Benefits
Tracking Down Life Insurance Benefits

Have you ever tried to track down a life insurance policy that was owned by a family member or find out if they had any life insurance?  If so, you know that this can be a challenging task. Here are some starting points:  Review all…
Toomey, Menendez clash on flood insurance
Toomey, Menendez clash on flood insurance

WASHINGTON – A debate over the federal flood insurance program sparked cross-river crossfire today, with New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez clashing with Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey over a plan to hold down premiums. Toomey, using procedural rules, blocked a plan to delay federal…
6 Factors Impacting the Claims Caseload
6 Factors Impacting the Claims Caseload

From the newest adjuster to the chief claims officer in an insurance organization’s home office, every claims professional has likely wondered at one point or another, “What is the ideal claims caseload?”That question still yields no quantitative answer. Those posing the question seek hard numbers.…
In tornado alley, building practices boost damage
In tornado alley, building practices boost damage

View PhotoReuters/Reuters – Memorial Day fireworks explode over a house damaged by the May 20 afternoon tornado in Moore, Oklahoma May 26, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Greg McCune(Reuters) – In a residential neighborhood near the center of a monster tornado that struck Moore,Oklahoma last month,…