My View: HB 1171 is simply a gift to insurers
My View: HB 1171 is simply a gift to insurers

My View In the strongest possible terms, we urge Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the home insurance deregulation bill, SB2036/HB1171. This bill is an invitation for insurers to game the Florida regulatory system and abuse consumers. No price can be too high, no discrimination can…
Sylmar’s Sayre Fire Survivors Get Just Rewards from AIG
Sylmar’s Sayre Fire Survivors Get Just Rewards from AIG

Outstanding! The settlement reached this week by the California Department of Insurance and AIG provides additional insurance coverage to Sylmar wildfire survivors who lost their homes in the Oakridge Mobile Home Park last November. News reports say the CDI/AIG settlement amount is reportedly between $37…
Veto Anti-Consumer Property Insurance Rates Bill
Veto Anti-Consumer Property Insurance Rates Bill

Not one Floridian has been spared from the challenges of these tough economic times. Yet a bill that would allow a select few, big property insurance companies to sneak unrestrained, unregulated and unrelenting rate hikes on unsuspecting consumers will arrive at Governor Crist’s desk over…
UP named among 100 most useful money websites
UP named among 100 most useful money websites

Here are my favorite Internet destinations that deal with money. All are worth bookmarking. But I’d like your help in discovering other cool sites. I love stumbling across insanely useful new Web sites. I’ve highlighted some in my columns and blog posts, but there always…
Allstate selling policies again along Alabama coast through lightly regulated company
Allstate selling policies again along Alabama coast through lightly regulated company

Allstate Corp., which has been dropping wind coverage from home insurance policies in Mobile and Baldwin counties, began in April to sell homeowner policies through a new unit called North Light Specialty Insurance Co. Because North Light is a lightly regulated surplus lines company, it…
Appeal would reveal claims denied
Appeal would reveal claims denied

A Coast policyholder is appealing to the state Supreme Court for access to Mississippi Insurance Department records that would show the dollar amount of Katrina claims denied by insurance companies. Long Beach policyholder Kevin Buckel filed a written request in January 2009 for records showing…
Is AARP Looking Out for You? Auto and Homeowners Insurance
Is AARP Looking Out for You? Auto and Homeowners Insurance

The way insurance companies barrage you with television ads promising to save you money, you might think they were paying you instead of the other way around. In the case of the GEICO googly eyes or actor Dennis Haysbert hawking Allstate policies, at least it’s…
Post fire claim advice: After the fire comes the adjuster
Post fire claim advice: After the fire comes the adjuster

In July, when fire tore through the Northwest mansion belonging to local activist and arts patron Peggy Cooper Cafritz, it set off what is likely to be a long journey toward rebuilding. Facing total loss, Cafritz hired a public insurance adjuster to estimate the dollar…
New company could help Allstate keep agents and other business
New company could help Allstate keep agents and other business

Besides giving Allstate Corp. more control over prices, North Light Specialty Insurance Co. could help the parent company retain its agents and other insurance business. Unlike an independent insurance agent, who can sell policies from a number of different companies, Allstate employs what are called…
California homeowners facing insurance rate hikes
California homeowners facing insurance rate hikes

In a state parched by a three-year drought, wildfires are at least partly to blame for the price increases, industry officials and even some consumer advocates agree. Reporting from Sacramento – As California heads into another season of wildfires that have been growing more frequent…
Three of the four largest homeowners insurance companies in the state are raising their rates
Three of the four largest homeowners insurance companies in the state are raising their rates

Three of Alabama’s four largest home insurers are raising rates, although State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., the state’s largest, is giving coastal residents something of a break. No. 1 State Farm, No. 2 Alfa Mutual group and No. 4 Farmers Insurance Group — the…
Most homes still underinsured for hurricanes
Most homes still underinsured for hurricanes

MSB, the leading provider of building cost data to the property insurance industry just released its findings for current estimates of homeowner insurance coverage across the United States MSB’s research reveals an estimated 64 percent of U.S. homes are undervalued for the purpose of insurance…
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage

The California Department of Insurance CDI) has secured between $37 million and $46 million in additional coverage from AIG for Sayre Fire survivors in Sylmar. Commissioner Poizner was joined by Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón; Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders and a…
Make a human connection at your mortgage company
Make a human connection at your mortgage company

If your property has been damaged and you’ve filed an insurance claim, when your insurance company sends you a check to pay for the repairs, it will probably be made out to you and your mortgage company. You’ll need to negotiate with the mortgage company…
When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage
When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage

June 2009 When money is tight, follow our tips before cutting or dropping coverage. In these tough economic times, we are all looking for ways to cut expenses. It’s tempting to reduce insurance costs by lowering or dropping coverage. Before you take this risky step,…
Short Cuts: The Peace of Mind of Home Insurance, Unless You Use It
Short Cuts: The Peace of Mind of Home Insurance, Unless You Use It

There is a saying among consumer advocates regarding homeowner’s insurance: “Use it and lose it.” It is not a phrase that insurance companies are particularly fond of. But it sums up how all too many people feel about their homeowner’s insurance: if you decide to…
What to look for in homeowners insurance
What to look for in homeowners insurance

NEW YORK CNN/Money) – Our homes are more than valuable assets. They’re safe havens, and protecting them with insurance is a must. How well you do that depends on the details of your policy. Here’s what to look for: Make sure you can rebuild The…