June 17, 2013 Last year’s fire victims offer a shoulder at disaster recovery center When Suzanne and Breck Swanson turned on the television on Wednesday, they watched their retirement home on Vessey Road explode in flames. With it went Suzanne’s sense of control, and all ideas of what to do next. But the next day at the El Paso…
June 13, 2013 Report Your Long-Term Care Insurance Claim Experience This week’s Your Money column discusses the difficulty that some people have encountered when trying to file a long-term care insurance claim on a family member’s behalf. I compiled some of the most common reasons that claims are denied, along with aspects of the coverage…
June 11, 2013 Get a Crash Course on Hurricane Deductibles An insurance industry that has taken its lumps from hurricanes has come to treat them differently in recent years. As a result, a home insurance policy in hurricane country today often comes with a special and potentially steeper hurricane deductible that kicks in when claims…
June 11, 2013 2 Problems = Zero Money: The Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause When disaster strikes it seems to happen all at once. Electric lines spark, windows shatter, roofs tear off, sump pumps stop and the lights go out. Homeowners see it this way. Insurance companies — and often the courts — see it differently. Major disasters such…
June 3, 2013 Coastal homeowners stagger under insurance costs GULF SHORES, Ala. — When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance. Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says potential buyers for…
May 22, 2013 Tornado May Cost Property-Casualty Insurers a Couple of Billion Property-casualty insurance companies are expected to face at least a couple billion dollars of insured losses from the tornado near Moore, Okla., according to rough calculations by Wall Street analysts. Some consumer activists are already expressing concern about homeowners falling short of the needed money…
May 21, 2013 United Policyholders to Hold Post Waldo Canyon Fire Insurance Meeting El Paso County will host United Policyholders as it presents a “A Roadmap to Recovery: Workshop for Waldo Canyon Fire Survivors. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at Centennial Hall Auditorium, 200 S. Cascade. Topics of the workshop include…
May 9, 2013 Declarations: The Coverage Opinions Interview With Amy Bach, Executive Director of United Policyholders You can’t read coverage decisions, especially from supreme courts, without frequently seeing United Policyholders as an amicus party. So I’ve always been under the impression that the organization was one that filed amicus briefs in support of the interests of commercial policyholders some of them…
May 7, 2013 FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge Recipients Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) is pleased to announce the selection of 30 recipients to receive funding under the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge program. The program focuses on building local community resilience to man-made and natural disasters, with an emphasis on…
April 30, 2013 5 problems that could be hiding in your home insurance policy It’s important to read the fine print of any contract, but consumers who buyhomeowner’s insurance especially should be vigilant. According to consumer-protection groups United Policyholders and the Consumer Federation of America, homeowner’s policies are becoming more difficult to understand. This is partly because carriers are…
April 15, 2013 Covered by homeowners insurance? Don’t be so sure Bought or renewed a homeowners insurance policy lately? You’ve no doubt noticed that premiums have gotten pretty pricey. Rates have climbed 69% over the past decade to an average of $1,000 a year. What you may not realize is that you could be facing another…
April 15, 2013 Financial literacy should include insurance considerations People who are inspired to learn more about their finances during Financial Literacy Month shouldn’t overlook the effect that insurance can have on their bank accounts. Each April, financial education advocates urge consumers to take time to study money issues. An important part of achieving…
April 8, 2013 Fire report’s release stirs residents’ emotions, memories Residents of northwest Colorado Springs had a mix of reactions last week to the city’s review of the fire, often focusing on issues and emotions that continue to sometimes overwhelm them. Their memories of the June fire are vivid: many choke with gratitude when they…
April 3, 2013 You’re charging me for what?! Insurers find new ways to set car insurance rates Insurance companies are getting creative when it comes to determining how much you should pay for car insurance. In addition to using traditional factors, such as your driving record and how many miles you drive each year, some insurers now look at such things as…
April 2, 2013 Courts toss homeowners’ insurance regulation A judge has thrown out a state regulation that insurers said allows the insurance commissioner to decide on his own what constitutes an unfair business practice — a designation that can carry severe penalties for companies and their agents. Insurers said the court’s decision was…
March 28, 2013 Should states ban credit-based insurance scoring? Drivers in Texas who have bruised credit soon could have one less thing to worry about when buying insurance. A bill pending in the state Senate would prevent insurance companies in Texas from using credit-based insurance scores to determine how much to charge policyholders for…
March 22, 2013 Why women should consider buying long-term care insurance now Long Term care insurance can offer protection against the sky-high costs of day-to-day care in your golden years. But if you’re a woman who’s weighing whether to buy long-term care insurance for the first time, get ready for a case of sticker shock. Women soon…
March 19, 2013 It’s Flood Season. Are You Protected? Spring is a favorite season for many, but people who have seen their house swept away in a flood probably feel that summer droughts and blizzards get a bad rap. Thanks to heavy rains and melting snow, March and April are months particularly prone to…