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…
UP suit seeks to fix the National Flood Insurance Program’s claim appeal process so it works for consumers
UP suit seeks to fix the National Flood Insurance Program’s claim appeal process so it works for consumers

In February 2015, UP filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Washington D.C. to secure complete responses from the NFIP to the three Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests we filed in 2014. Our FOIA requests seek details of the appeals process that is offered to policyholders when…
Louisiana Supreme Court to Insurers: “You can’t abandon your customers in their hour of need. You’re in the protection business”
Louisiana Supreme Court to Insurers: “You can’t abandon your customers in their hour of need. You’re in the protection business”

Good news for Louisiana insurance consumers came this week when the state’s highest court sided with them (and UP’s amicus brief) in Kelly v. State Farm on two important points: 1) A firm settlement offer is unnecessary for an insured to sustain a cause of action against…
Proposal to restore integrity to the National Flood Insurance Program
Proposal to restore integrity to the National Flood Insurance Program

United Policyholders today called for Congress to require the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to give its policyholders access to their claim files, including copies of estimates, reports and any other documents. In the wake of testimony from homeowners and comments from lawmakers earlier this…
Hurricane Sandy Judges Demand Clearing of Settlement Roadblocks
Hurricane Sandy Judges Demand Clearing of Settlement Roadblocks

Federal officials and flood insurance companies were chastised by a panel of New York judges for imposing delays on settlements with hundreds of Hurricane Sandy victims who alleged their claims were wrongfully denied or underpaid.Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and lawyers for 25…
The stakes they gettin’ higher – Captive consumers are vulnerable consumers
The stakes they gettin’ higher – Captive consumers are vulnerable consumers

Insurance has always been a big deal to loss victims, disaster survivors, and needless to say, United Policyholders.  To the rest of the world…not so much. As to paying for insurance policies that are optional, consumers can just say no, not buying. End of story.…
Reports Advise How to Make Flood Insurance Affordable
Reports Advise How to Make Flood Insurance Affordable

A new report suggests the federal flood insurance program may want to target mitigation grants to households with high premiums, urge homeowners to select higher deductibles, expand the educational role of insurance agents, and provide mitigation loans to help make flood insurance more affordable.These proposals…
It’s no surprise that an acronym soup designed by committee doesn’t taste good
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…
Insurance commissioner, consumer advocate split over Allstate rates
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…
FEMA will allow 144,000 Sandy victims to reopen insurance claims after fraud charges
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…
Climate change calls for non-profit insurance
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…
Good news for insured losses: 2014 was a relatively quiet year
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…
Letter to American Law Institute regarding allocation rules in the draft Restatement (formerely Principles) of the Law of Liability Insurance
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…
Freedom of Information Act Request to DHS FEMA – WYOs and IAs
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…
How the other half lives
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…
Insurers Superbowl 49 ad BLITZ rankles
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.…
Just asking about an insurance claim can make your rate go up
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…
Demonstrating and Preserving the Deterrent Effect of Punitive Damages in Insurance Bad Faith Cases
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