Poizner Hails Recovery From Fires, Says Most Claims Are Resolved
Poizner Hails Recovery From Fires, Says Most Claims Are Resolved

ESCONDIDO — Standing in front of an Escondido home that rose from the ashes of the 2007 wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said yesterday that the pain of post-fire recovery and rebuilding has finally ended for most of the victims. Poizner, who is running…
Five Things Never to Say to Your Insurers
Five Things Never to Say to Your Insurers

Some words are red flags to insurers and using them could mean that your claim might be delayed or even denied.By Ismat Sarah Mangla, Money Magazine, November 2, 20091. “I think …”Never begin a statement regarding a claim with these words. If you aren’t sure,…
Fire Insurance Explained
Fire Insurance Explained

With stories ranging from “My insurance company is just being too good to be true” to “I’ve been with my insurance company for 21 years, never made a claim, just lost my house, and now they’ve cancelled me,” about 50 Jesusita and Tea fire survivors…
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork

The wildfire survivor profiled in this Orange County Register article has been attending United Policyholders’ Roadmap to Recovery meetings and was pictured in our spring newsletter receiving her copy of the Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide. Readers mourned and complained when we ended…
Consumer advocates ask Gov. Crist to veto home insurance deregulation
Consumer advocates ask Gov. Crist to veto home insurance deregulation

Four consumer advocacy groups implored Gov. Charlie Crist today to veto a bill that would allow large insurers to charge essentially unregulated rates. “This bill is an invitation for insurers to game the Florida regulatory system and abuse consumers,” said officials from the Consumer Federation…
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim

California’s burning, again; the flames north of Los Angeles, also known as the Station Fire, have already killed two people, and are threatening tens of thousands of homes, causing the governor to declare a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties. So of…
Crist close to decision on property insurance bill
Crist close to decision on property insurance bill

TALLAHASSEE — Both supporters and opponents of a bill that would partially deregulate Florida’s property insurance market are fiercely lobbying Gov. Charlie Crist as he nears a decision about whether to sign the bill or follow his apparent instinct to veto it. Crist formally received…
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina

OCEAN SPRINGS — It was just another in the rush of federal suits against Mississippi insurers last August, just before the three-year statute of limitations after Hurricane Katrina expired. Except it wasn’t. Without a lawyer, then-77-year-old Maralou Richards of Ocean Springs filed a handwritten complaint…
Crist Signals Opposition To ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill
Crist Signals Opposition To ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill

NU Online News Service, May 28, 11:36 a.m. EDT Florida Gov. Charlie Crist yesterday indicated he may veto the “Consumer Choice” bill that would eliminate rate restrictions on some home insurance. The governor said an unregulated insurance industry would be unfair to consumers. His comments…
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire

Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire Survivors to receive an average $100,000 to $125,000 in Additional Coverage Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that the California Department of Insurance CDI) has…
Fight heats up over bill to allow property insurers to raise rates on their own
Fight heats up over bill to allow property insurers to raise rates on their own

The fight is heating up against legislation that would allow large property insurers to raise rates without state approval. Eight consumer groups including the Consumer Federation of the Southeast and the Florida Public Interest Research Group have implored Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the bill…
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims

Just one third have rebuilt; one half submitted plans for reconstruction Two years after the 2007 firestorm, the path to recovery continues to be slow and arduous for hundreds of San Diego County residents who lost their homes. Only one-third have finished rebuilding. And nearly…
Fla. ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill Angers Consumer Groups
Fla. ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill Angers Consumer Groups

NU Online News Service, May 26, 3:38 p.m. EDT A Florida bill that would allow some insurers to charge rates above those approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation provided they meet certain capital requirements has drawn the ire of consumer groups. In order to…
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help

SYLMAR – Oakridge resident Joanne Nadeau, who lost her mobile home in November’s Sayre Fire, can now rebuild thanks to additional money secured by the state’s Department of Insurance. Instead of getting $165,000 from her AIG insurance policy, Nadeau will receive nearly $300,000. “Now I…
Florida governor vetoes deregulation bill
Florida governor vetoes deregulation bill
Policyholders limited in how low they can go with contents coverage
Policyholders limited in how low they can go with contents coverage

Keith Brannon has been living a minimalist’s life since Hurricane Katrina. Like many New Orleanians, Brannon dragged the entire contents of his house to the curb when his Broadmoor-Fontainebleau area home flooded and moldered in the storm. He has replaced only the bare essentials. “We…
Insurers should pay for their own mistakes
Insurers should pay for their own mistakes

Consumer Watchdogs Want Insurers To Rein In Surge Costs NU Online News Service, April 22, 8:52 a.m. EDT Consumer watchdogs are urging a closer look at insurers’ estimation of post-catastrophe material and labor price increases, citing a study questioning demand surge figures used to set…
State Negotiates Deal for Sayre Fire Victims
State Negotiates Deal for Sayre Fire Victims

Mobile home owners whose properties were destroyed by the 2008 Sayre Fire and who were insured by AIG will receive as much as an extra $125,000 from their policy under an agreement announced today by the state insurance commissioner. The Sylmar-area fire destroyed 485 mobile…