April 7, 2015 It’s no surprise that an acronym soup designed by committee doesn’t taste good Some of you may remember the kid’s song: “I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly…” The Sandy scandal that the National Flood Insurance Program is digging out of reminds me of that song. An engineer hired by an IA. A WYO hired the…
April 5, 2015 Insurance commissioner, consumer advocate split over Allstate rates In the California insurance world, activist Harvey Rosenfield and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones have been longtime collaborators. Until recently. Rosenfield, a feisty consumer advocate from Santa Monica, wrote Proposition 103, a landmark 1988 ballot measure that turned the insurance commissioner into an elected position. It…
March 26, 2015 FEMA will allow 144,000 Sandy victims to reopen insurance claims after fraud charges Updated March 25, 2015 10:04 PMBy JOE RYAN joe.ryan@newsday.com The National Flood Insurance Program plans to begin sending 144,000 letters in the coming weeks to homeowners from North Carolina to Maine to begin the complex job of reviewing claims for superstorm Sandy victims who suspect…
March 14, 2015 Climate change calls for non-profit insurance In This Changes Everything, author Naomi Klein raises the question of how capitalist societies will “adapt” to the people made homeless and jobless by increasingly intense and frequent natural disasters. One of the issues she focuses on is the reaction of insurance companies, pointing out…
February 25, 2015 Good news for insured losses: 2014 was a relatively quiet year Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a global risk and reinsurance specialist, today released its annual Global Catastrophe Review, which reports that insured losses in 2014 were at the lowest level seen since 2009. According to the report, significant insured losses in 2014 totaled approximately $33…
February 24, 2015 Letter to American Law Institute regarding allocation rules in the draft Restatement (formerely Principles) of the Law of Liability Insurance “The default rule [in allocation cases] should be “all sums” or joint and several liability, and that the burden for contribution and subrogation should be on the insurer, not the policyholder. Without a doubt, the law should encourage the timely availability of insurance funds to…
February 24, 2015 Freedom of Information Act Request to DHS FEMA – WYOs and IAs On February 23, 2015, UP submitted a third Freedom of Information Act request to FEMA for information on the National Flood Insurenace Program. In this request, UP sough information on the contracts between Write-Your-Own insurers and Independent Adjusters in order to determine how payments and…
February 6, 2015 How the other half lives The people United Policyholders serves, is in close touch with and advocates for are the ones that fuel the insurance system by buying the products. Their/our perspectives are what we know. Checking in on the other half of the system – the people who run…
February 2, 2015 Insurers Superbowl 49 ad BLITZ rankles In case you missed Lindsay Lohan careening onto the curb just inches away from two dazed school boys to promote Allstate’s Esurance brand, or Nationwide’s more serious but controversial point about avoidable accidents – once again, insurance ads were front and center during yesterday’s Superbowl.…
January 22, 2015 Just asking about an insurance claim can make your rate go up By: Jonnelle Marte, The Washington PostMost people know that filing frequent insurance claims can lead to a spike in what they pay for coverage.But many probably don’t realize that just asking an insurance agent about a potential claim can also affect rates — even if…
January 15, 2015 Demonstrating and Preserving the Deterrent Effect of Punitive Damages in Insurance Bad Faith Cases by Harvey R. Levine (Universitty of San Diego School of Law) Older article from the University of San Francisco Law Review discussing punitive damages and deterrence in insurance bad faith cases (13 U.S.F.L 613 1978-1979). 13USFLRev613.pdf
January 13, 2015 Boles Fire – Roadmap to Recovery Workshop UP will be hosting a free educational workshop for Boles Fire Survivors on Tuesday, January 13th at the College of the Siskiyous. This workshop will cover how to navigate the insurance and rebuilding process, including communicating with your insurer, your legal rights in California and…
January 12, 2015 “Sharing Economy” UPdate As they work to establish oversight of new transportation network companies, and set fair rules for licensure, insurance and competition with the taxi industry, regulators are classifying Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing businesses as the “Sharing Economy.” United Policyholders has been engaged in these oversight…
December 18, 2014 “Use it and lose it” is a very serious threat to the integrity of our insurance system This recent “Share Your Story” email to UP from a Wyoming consumer captures how the “use it and lose it” phenomenon is one of the most serious threats to the integrity of the insurance system today. “We had a fire two years ago. It started…
December 17, 2014 50 State Summary of Cancellation Rules 50-state summary of mid-term cancellation rules for auto, commercial, business, and other personal lines insurance policies. (2014, Wells Media Group via Insurance Journal) Midterm-Cancellation-States-List.pdf
December 16, 2014 NAIC Names 2015 Consumer Representatives The National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC) recently named 30 consumer liaison representatives for 2015. The 20 funded and 10 unfunded consumer representatives begin their terms Jan. 1, 2015. Eighteen of the funded consumer representatives participated in the program in 2014. Established in 1992, the…
December 8, 2014 Helping New Jersey residents get fair insurance settlements for Sandy damage Our ongoing work helping New Jersey homeowners get fair insurance settlements for Sandy damage includes: Distributing sample letters and tips for appealing a claim denial and getting a supplemental claim approved for payment and guiding homeowners and the local aid workers engaged in the long term recovery…
December 8, 2014 FEMA says it is investigating allegations of falsified Sandy engineering reports By JOE RYAN joe.ryan@newsday.com An attorney for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Tuesday said the organization was investigating allegations that engineering reports were secretly rewritten after superstorm Sandy to deny claims on government-funded flood insurance policies.FEMA associate general counsel Jordan Fried told a panel of…
