UP featured at national FEMA webinar
UP featured at national FEMA webinar

At FEMA’s invitation, UP Executive Director Amy Bach was recently the featured presenter at a national webinar for “Voluntary Agency Liaisons” (VALs) and Emergency Managers throughout the United States. Bach focused on insurance problems after Tropical Storm Irene and reviewed the resources UP offers through…
UP mediation research wins award
UP mediation research wins award

After Hurricane Katrina a number of states rushed to set up insurance claim mediation programs. We offered suggestions to those that were interested in our input, then published a Policyholders Guide to Mediation to help consumers get better results. Policyholders who have used state-sponsored mediation…
Great grant news
Great grant news

United Policyholders recently received renewed funding from the Austin Community Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for the long term recovery support services we are providing through our Roadmap to Recovery program in Central Texas and in Northern California. We’re grateful to the donors…
Bach Talk Summer 2012
Bach Talk Summer 2012

Computers don’t build houses… contractors do. Computers don’t provide medical treatment… doctors and nurses do. So while insurers are infatuated with using claim valuation software tools to increase profits by minimizing payouts… regulators and judges need to limit the use of these tools. Insurance company…
Thank you to our Bastrop Roadmap to Recovery speakers
Thank you to our Bastrop Roadmap to Recovery speakers

Thank you… To the volunteers who have donated their time and expertise as guest speakers at UP Roadmap to Recovery meetings and events in Bastrop, Texas. Tony Slagle, Office of the Public Insurance Council Les Little, Buck Keenan, LLP Andrew Slania, Doyle Raizner, LLP Clay…
Let go (please) lender…
Let go (please) lender…

If you have a mortgage, the lender is almost always listed on your home insurance as an additional insured. So if your home is significantly damaged ($5,000 or more) and your insurer sends a check for the repairs, that check will usually be made out…
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend

The destruction from the wildfires that are raging in Colorado and elsewhere this summer is unspeakably sad. Hard work lies ahead. To those who will soon begin the excruciating process of inventorying and documenting their losses and those who just want to be educated; the…
Health care law saves consumers over $1 billion
Health care law saves consumers over $1 billion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 21, 2012 Health care law saves consumers over $1 billion Health care law provides rebates to more than 12 million consumers Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 12.8 million Americans will benefit from $1.1 billion…
Parent Power
Parent Power

Parents’ options for insuring their kids, especially those with pre-existing conditions, have improved considerably in recent years, though more in some states than in others. An increasing number of states are now requiring insurers to cover treatment related to Autism. In the states that are…
Greater Expectations
Greater Expectations

If you weren’t thrilled with the way your insurer handled an auto accident claim, you’re not alone. Consumer satisfaction with auto claims is dropping, according to a recent study by J.D. Powers. Given how aggressively insurers compete for your auto business, you have the power…
Insurers say EQ Insurance an affordable option in Ohio to cover fracking damage
Insurers say EQ Insurance an affordable option in Ohio to cover fracking damage

April 16, 2012 – Last year’s uptick in the state’s seismic activity may have some Ohioans rethinking about the overall risk for earthquakes and the need for earthquake (EQ) insurance coverage. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey Ohio Seismic Network reports…
Allstate Doubles Profits in Q4
Allstate Doubles Profits in Q4

Allstate Corp. reported that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter thanks to lower catastrophe losses and improved homeowners business.The big insurance company posted a fourth quarter net profit of $724 million compared to a fourth quarter profit of $296 million a year…
Life insurers settle with regulators and agree to be more pro-active in seeking out beneficiaries
Life insurers settle with regulators and agree to be more pro-active in seeking out beneficiaries

The California Department of Insurance and six other states have negotiated a $17 million settlement with Prudential Insurance Co. to speed up payouts to life insurance beneficiaries.The settlement requires Prudential to regularly check the Social Security “Death Master” file to determine whether any of its…
One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into “new” house
One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into “new” house

By Bob Butler, Fellow, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism, and Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer |Each day, after wrapping up work as a streetcar operator, Kisa Holmes drives by to check on the house she bought in the Upper 9th Ward just weeks…
CFA: Insurers Becoming Experts at Risk-Avoidance
CFA: Insurers Becoming Experts at Risk-Avoidance

Insurers are shifting the cost of risk to consumers and taxpayers, side stepping their traditional role of risk-takers and becoming experts at risk-avoidance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America.The study titled, “The Insurance Industry’s Incredible Disappearing Weather Catastrophe Risk,” asserts that…
Car repair shops getting squeezed by insurers: Consumers Beware
Car repair shops getting squeezed by insurers: Consumers Beware

Car repair shops across the country say insurance companies are controlling their prices by steering customers toward preferred businesses that do their bidding.Several business owners in Central Iowa took their complaint to the governor’s office in September, and state legislators will likely address the issue…
New York Insurance Department acts to protect consumers against unfair practices related to Retained Asset Accounts (Life Insurance policy features)
New York Insurance Department acts to protect consumers against unfair practices related to Retained Asset Accounts (Life Insurance policy features)

CUOMO ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO PROTECT INSURANCE BENEFITS OF NEW YORK SOLDIERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES Superintendent Lawsky Announces Life Insurers Should Pay Full Benefits Owed To Survivors And Not Hold Funds In Their Own Accounts Unless Soldiers And Their Families Expressly Choose That OptionBenjamin M.…
Costs of long-term care insurance on the rise; policies also changing
Costs of long-term care insurance on the rise; policies also changing

By Christine Dugas, USA TODAYJust as aging Baby Boomers are realizing they may need long-term care insurance, the marketplace is shrinking, the cost of premiums is soaring, and providers are altering the policies they offer.Long-term care insurance helps cover expenses that typical health insurance doesn’t,…