Ruff and Ready?
Ruff and Ready?

Pet Insurance Check UP As treatment options for sick and injured animals improve, and new (expensive) medications and procedures can extend your pet’s healthy life, you may want to give pet insurance a second look. You can buy coverage for urgent care only, or broad…
Appeals process for flood insurance claims needs work: Senate probe
Appeals process for flood insurance claims needs work: Senate probe

The U.S. government’s appeals process for reviewing flood insurance claim disputes is riddled with flaws, but there is no evidence of systematic underpayments by insurers to flood victims, an investigation by U.S. Senate staffers has found.”Despite widespread concerns, it does not appear that systematic incentives…
Flaws but no abuse, Senate finds in Superstorm Sandy flood insurance study, Reuters reports
Flaws but no abuse, Senate finds in Superstorm Sandy flood insurance study, Reuters reports

The Senate Banking Committee will release a report that calls the appeals process for federal flood insurance claims after Super Storm Sandy badly flawed, but also that it found no signs of systematic underpayments to victims, Reuters reports.”Despite widespread concerns, it does not appear that…
Capitol Pressroom
Capitol Pressroom

Amy Bach, the executive director of United Policyholders, looks at a report that shows property insurers have reaped higher-than-average profits in New York State despite losses from major weather events like Superstorm Sandy. Bach argues New York insurance law is crafted in a way that…
FEMA re-opens claims, but some Sandy victims say ‘no thanks
FEMA re-opens claims, but some Sandy victims say ‘no thanks

A few weeks ago, FEMA sent out 146,000 letters to homeowners who were possible victims of Sandy-related flood insurance fraud, offering to reevaluate their damage awards and make them whole. That’s a lot of people with a lot of money at stake.FEMA is also offering…
Thursday marks anniversary and deadline for Black Forest Fire victims
Thursday marks anniversary and deadline for Black Forest Fire victims

Thursday marks two years since the state’s most destructive wildfire, but it also marks a deadline for insurance policies related to the Black Forest Fire. According to United Policyholders, key deadlines include the expiration of additional living expenses/loss of use benefits, a firm deadline for…
Flood program must focus more on needs of disaster victims, new chief says
Flood program must focus more on needs of disaster victims, new chief says

The newly appointed director of the National Flood Insurance Program said the organization needs to focus more on the welfare of disaster victims and rethink gaps in coverage that bedeviled homeowners after superstorm Sandy. Roy Wright, who takes over the federal program next week, said…
The auto gap insurance dilemma at the dealership: Take the coverage or leave it?
The auto gap insurance dilemma at the dealership: Take the coverage or leave it?

While you’re signing a stack of paperwork in the dealer’s office and eyeing the set of keys to your brand-new ride, your salesman asks if you’d like to add another $500 to your final tab for something you’ve never heard of called “auto gap insurance.”…
Waldo Canyon, Black Forest fire victims see dissimilar outcomes
Waldo Canyon, Black Forest fire victims see dissimilar outcomes

It was the worst of fires – and then came another one even worse. It was a fire in a subdivision and then it was one in a wooded, rural community. It was a fire of quick rebuilding and then it was one where the…
After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program
After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program

Less than 48 hours after torrential rains flooded parts of Houston in late May, AJ Culembourg found herself ripping up floor boards inside the rental property she and her husband remodeled 18 months ago. Flood waters had reached as high as 18 inches inside the…
4 most common reasons why insurers deny life insurance claims
4 most common reasons why insurers deny life insurance claims

When you buy a life insurance policy, there’s a chance your beneficiary’s claim may be denied – and it’s important for you to know how this can happen. Insurers examine the terms of policies carefully before paying claims, to make sure policyholders have fulfilled their…
FEMA To Allow Superstorm Sandy Victims To Review Flood Claims
FEMA To Allow Superstorm Sandy Victims To Review Flood Claims

FEMA is mailing letters to more than 140,000 Superstorm Sandy victims. The letters ask if they want their flood insurance claim to be reviewed. This comes after months of scrutiny and accusations that the private insurance companies who help run the federal flood program shortchanged…
Shop so you don’t drop (more $ than you should)
Shop so you don’t drop (more $ than you should)

The quality of your insurance really does matter, but figuring out which policy will give you more protection is tricky. UP can guide you on what to look for and avoid, but getting the real scoop and comparing different options is very hard to do…
Letters go out to Sandy victims who want to reopen claims
Letters go out to Sandy victims who want to reopen claims

The National Flood Insurance Program began mailing letters to superstorm Sandy victims Monday to start the process of reviewing thousands of claims that may have been underpaid after the 2012 disaster.The first round of roughly 15,000 notices are going to homeowners whose properties were inspected…
FEMA will reopen Superstorm Sandy claims this week
FEMA will reopen Superstorm Sandy claims this week

United Policyholders’ Executive Director Amy Bach talks with radio journalist Maggie Glynn of Magic 98.3 in New Jersey about the devastating woes still facing many Sandy victims. Bach and Glynn discuss what went wrong insurance-wise after Sandy, the reopen process, and the resources available on…
Being A Loyal Auto Insurance Customer Can Cost You
Being A Loyal Auto Insurance Customer Can Cost You

Many companies reward their most loyal customers with incentives, discounts and freebies. But in car insurance, the opposite can actually happen. A driver can be punished with a higher premium just for being loyal to the company. It’s called price optimization, and it happens to…
Why Sandy Homeowners Were Left In The Lurch
Why Sandy Homeowners Were Left In The Lurch

Superstorm Sandy’s storm surge was so strong when it hit Long Island in October 2012 that it lifted up Dan Stapleton’s Long Beach home and then kicked in the corner of the foundation. It left a 30-foot hole around his house. Stapleton, unlike many Sandy…
Fed Probe Why Sandy Victims Were Shortchanged on Flood Insurance Claims
Fed Probe Why Sandy Victims Were Shortchanged on Flood Insurance Claims

Critics call for wide-ranging, structural reforms to ensure problems encountered after Sandy don’t happen again Amid the stress and confusion in the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of coastal communities found themselves struggling to comprehend their losses and how to begin to put things…