New York Regulator Seeks Details From Life Insurers Using Algorithms to Issue Policies
New York Regulator Seeks Details From Life Insurers Using Algorithms to Issue Policies

New York’s top financial regulator is investigating life insurers’ use of big data, complicating the industry’s efforts to boost sales by forgoing medical examinations in favor of algorithms for sizing up risk. New York’s top financial regulator is investigating life insurers’ use of big data,…
Guest Blog: United Policyholders Amicus Project Scores Victory For Texas Homeowners and Businesses
Guest Blog: United Policyholders Amicus Project Scores Victory For Texas Homeowners and Businesses

The availability of insurance coverage for loss or damage can hinge on the smallest details.  Did your insurer record that it received your notice letter?  Did your insurer’s investigator take note of those small but critical facts you pointed out during the investigation?  Did you…
House Committee Adds 5 More Bills to Its Flood Insurance Reform Package
House Committee Adds 5 More Bills to Its Flood Insurance Reform Package

The House Financial Services Committee advanced five flood insurance proposals on Wednesday, adding to the two bills it passed last week. The House measures seek to reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is set to expire on September 30, for five…
House Committee Advances 2 Flood Insurance Bills; More to Come
House Committee Advances 2 Flood Insurance Bills; More to Come

The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday passed two bills to reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). One is a broad reform proposal that seeks to encourage more private insurance and move the program toward actuarial-based rates, while the other addresses premium credits for…
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Successfully mediating insurance cases
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Successfully mediating insurance cases

The fourth installment of Catch UP was a success! Catch UP on how to successfully mediate insurance cases.  Registration fees support our non-profit’s important work empowering the insured.  A recording of the webinar is available for purchase at www.uphelp.org/catchup.  The one-hour long segment of Catch UP, hosted…
Why Poor Credit Can Triple Your Homeowners Insurance
Why Poor Credit Can Triple Your Homeowners Insurance

It’s no secret that credit scores play an increasingly important role in our financial lives, determining everything from whether we qualify for a mortgage to what interest rate we’ll get on a new credit card. What still may surprise some, however, is how significant credit…
Delaware Ranks High Among States for Homeowners’ Insurance Protections
Delaware Ranks High Among States for Homeowners’ Insurance Protections

Dover, DE – Delaware homeowners are among the most protected in the nation against having their homeowners insurance non-renewed or rates raised due to filing or even inquiring about a claim. This is according to a recent study by the Rutgers Center for Risk and…
How your selfie could affect your life insurance
How your selfie could affect your life insurance

A selfie reveals more than whether it’s a good hair day. Facial lines and contours, droops and dark spots could indicate how well you’re aging, and, when paired with other data, could someday help determine whether you qualify for life insurance. “Your face is something…
Flood insurance premiums need to rise by 25% per year
Flood insurance premiums need to rise by 25% per year

The National Flood Insurance Program NFIP) is buckling under the weight of a $25 billion debt, so something’s got to give. For some policyholders, this could mean as much as 25% increases in the rate they pay for coverage every year. In Mississippi, anecdotal evidence…
America’s flood insurance system is sinking
America’s flood insurance system is sinking

Here’s some bad news for the 5 million Americans who have flood insurance policies: Premiums will rise an average 6.3 percent this year, according to the National Flood Insurance Program NFIP). But this could be followed by even worse news when rates rise as much…
Flood Insurance: Pricier This Year, and May Go Higher The New York Times)
Flood Insurance: Pricier This Year, and May Go Higher The New York Times)

New York Times – Many homeowners who have flood insurance — or are seeking to buy it — will face higher premiums this year, because of increases that took effect April 1. Premiums under the National Flood Insurance Program rose an average of about 6…
A Flood of (tightening the) Belt(way) Attention
A Flood of (tightening the) Belt(way) Attention

Reforming and/or re-authorizing the ​National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has moved front and center in our nation’s Capitol in the past month, and was mentioned prominently in the budget proposal recently issued by the White House. The NFIP is basically a privatized government program created by Congress through which insurance companies and vendors…
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Making appraisal work for your client
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Making appraisal work for your client

Catch UP on how to use the appraisal process to settle an insurance dispute from the comfort of your home or office.  Lawyers can earn continuing ed credit for registering for the webinar.  And best of all, your registration fee supports our non-profit’s important work…
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Surplus lines/non-admitted insurers
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Surplus lines/non-admitted insurers

Representing policyholders in litigation involving surplus lines/”non-admitted” insurance companies: “Surplus lines” (also known as “non-admitted”) insurers are a form of company set up in part to avoid the full spectrum of regulations, solvency and other oversight requirements that apply to “admitted” companies. Surplus lines companies often…
Press Release: United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims
Press Release: United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims

Insurance Companies now held to higher standard for setting homeowners policy limits; Court finds Insurance Commissioner has authority to regulate replacement cost estimates SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 23, 2017 – United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit insurance consumer organization, today praised a California Supreme Court…
United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims
United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims

Insurance Companies now held to a higher standard for setting homeowners policy limits; Court finds Insurance Commissioner has authority to regulate replacement cost estimates SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 23, 2017 – United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit insurance consumer organization, today praised a California Supreme…
Court backs rules to protect fire victims from being underinsured
Court backs rules to protect fire victims from being underinsured

California’s insurance commissioner has the authority to adopt rules that protect homeowners whose policies fall far short of the amounts needed to rebuild or replace homes destroyed by wildfires or other disasters, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Insurance companies usually give homeowners estimates of…
Wildfire Risk Reduction and Insurability
Wildfire Risk Reduction and Insurability

In the age of big data and GPS mapping, insurers are increasingly using complicated and opaque models to set their rates. FireLine is one name brand model created and sold to insurers by Verisk/Insurance Services Office. FireLine looks at a number of criteria (slope, access,…