Poor credit history can harm your ability to buy home and car insurance
Poor credit history can harm your ability to buy home and car insurance

he cancellation of homeowner’s insurance policies in Florida based on consumers’ credit histories is drawing close scrutiny from state insurance officials. In a recent letter to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, the state’s insurance consumer advocate, Robin Smith Westcott, criticized insurers for using legal claims and…
The costs of surviving cardiovascular disease: It’s enough to give you a heart attack!
The costs of surviving cardiovascular disease: It’s enough to give you a heart attack!

If you’re lucky enough to survive a heart attack or stroke, you may face another serious challenge: dealing with the medical bills. Strokes and heart attacks can financially devastate people who lack adequate health insurance, says Stephanie Mohl, government relations manager for the American Heart…
Lessons for Staten Islanders navigating the insurance maze
Lessons for Staten Islanders navigating the insurance maze

As they stare down drawn-out battles over insurance settlements and uncertain coverage for the future, Staten Islanders might look to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — a storm that cost insurance companies a record $41 billion — to hazard a guess at what’s to come.…
Bill to let Sandy victims sue insurers over claims handling sparks debate
Bill to let Sandy victims sue insurers over claims handling sparks debate

A piece of legislation that would give Hurricane Sandy victims more power to sue their insurer if they feel their claim was handled badly was tabled last week as lobbyists in Trenton battled over whether such a right would make for good public policy. The…
Gun owners arming themselves with lawyers even before shots are fired
Gun owners arming themselves with lawyers even before shots are fired

Beyond guilt or innocence, the case against Florida murder suspect George Zimmerman will undoubtedly leave him broke. The controversial concealed handgun license holder made headlines last spring when he claimed he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense during a violent scuffle. Zimmerman hasn’t worked in…
ConsumerWatch: Allstate Denies SF Homeowners’ Claims In Water Main Break
ConsumerWatch: Allstate Denies SF Homeowners’ Claims In Water Main Break

Watch the video A sinkhole caused by a broken water main in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood has put some homes in danger, and the response from one insurance company left some of the affected homeowners feeling left in the cold. Allstate Insurance has denied…
Life insurance vs. long-term care insurance: Which do you need?
Life insurance vs. long-term care insurance: Which do you need?

While life insurance is designed to protect your loved ones when you die, long-term care insurance provides money to help you maintain a good quality of life while you’re alive. But with the rising costs of long-term care insurance, some Americans with limited money may…
New Breadwinner in the Household: How Does This Affect Life Insurance?
New Breadwinner in the Household: How Does This Affect Life Insurance?

In the current economy, many households are changing primary breadwinners. For example, after a stint as a stay-at-home parent, your husband decides to reenter the workforce. When he lands a job, your finances, day-to-day arrangements, and lifestyle may become very different. After such a change…
Most Americans uninformed about long-term care insurance
Most Americans uninformed about long-term care insurance
Tips for Sandy Victims on Mediating Insurance Disputes
Tips for Sandy Victims on Mediating Insurance Disputes

New Programs Announced in New York & New Jersey to Help Resolve Claim Disputes; Know What to Expect and Be Ready to Negotiate, Consumer Group Advises SAN FRANCISCO February 28, 2013 – With thousands of Superstorm Sandy victims frustrated by the slow process of settling…
Surviving Superstorm Sandy: One family’s story
Surviving Superstorm Sandy: One family’s story

After Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, the Ingber family spent one night trapped in their dark apartment in Long Beach, N.Y., as the wind howled and rain beat against their windows. It was scary, but they thought their renter’s insurance would help them weather…
How did a toddler have so much life insurance?
How did a toddler have so much life insurance?

AMONG THE haunting questions that need to be answered about the death of Prince McLeod Rams is one recently posed in a letter to this page. “What about the insurance companies,” Linda Cole wanted to know of the three firms that wrote policies totaling more…
Four costly homeowners insurance mistakes to avoid
Four costly homeowners insurance mistakes to avoid

This piece was written by Caroline Mayer, a consumer reporter who spent 25 years working for The Washington Post: With record-setting snows pounding the Northeast and tornadoes rocking the South, major weather events are sweeping the country. These storms and subsequent ones are likely to…
6 myths about buying life insurance
6 myths about buying life insurance

Let’s talk about your death. Not much of a sales pitch, is it? Yet that’s precisely the body under the sheet we’re delicately avoiding when we consider buying life insurance. “They call it life insurance but it’s really death insurance. After all, you’ll never live…
Call Kurtis: Overcharges At The Dentist
Call Kurtis: Overcharges At The Dentist

A state worker called Kurtis when her insurance statements didn’t match up with her dental bills. She’s a tax auditor, she crunches numbers for a living. So, when her recent insurance paperwork showed up, she soon found the math didn’t make sense. “Check your claim…
Storm of Money: Small insurance reform groups along U.S. coast take on industry Goliaths
Storm of Money: Small insurance reform groups along U.S. coast take on industry Goliaths

Six years ago, a group of church volunteers in Gulf Shores, Ala., went door to door to “find out where the pain was,” said Michelle Kurtz, one of the leaders. They heard stories about drainage problems and drugs, but to their surprise, one concern generated…
3 Health Insurance Options That May Fail You
3 Health Insurance Options That May Fail You

If you lose of can’t find health insurance coverage, help is on the way. But you’ll have to wait awhile. Beginning in 2014, federal health care reform provisions kick in that will protect people who have pre-existing health conditions and others who are struggling to…
The dangers of letting your life insurance lapse
The dangers of letting your life insurance lapse

It’s one of the life insurance industry’s best-kept secrets – a great number of life insurance policies in the U.S. tend to lapse, meaning the coverage runs out and is not available if you die. Some studies claim as many as 80 percent of policies…