Agent scams seniors out of more than $2 million
Agent scams seniors out of more than $2 million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (#073)NEWS RELEASEAgent scams seniors out of more than $2 millionDepartment of Insurance asks additional victims to come forward PALM DESERT, Calif. – John Paul Slawinski, 59, was arrested at his home in Palm Desert on July 29, and is being arraigned on…
California Court of Appeal holds that an arbitration clause is not a bar to a claim for bad faith
California Court of Appeal holds that an arbitration clause is not a bar to a claim for bad faith

Policyholders achieved a rare victory in Maslo v. Ameriprise, B294271, Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four, June 27, 2014 (227 Cal.App 4th 626). The plaintiff, Ted Maslo, was injured in a car crash by an uninsured motorist. After filing for UIM benefits under his own policy,…
Bobby Jindal signs bill to kill lawsuit against oil, gas companies
Bobby Jindal signs bill to kill lawsuit against oil, gas companies

Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed legislation aimed at killing a lawsuit filed by a New Orleans area regional levee board against 97 oil and gas companies, despite concerns that the new law could negatively affect state and government claims against BP over the 2010 Gulf…
GAO Issues Dire Report on National Flood Insurance Program
GAO Issues Dire Report on National Flood Insurance Program

May 14, 2014By: Arthur PostalWASHINGTON—The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a long, dark tunnel with no light in sight, a new Government Accountability Office report indicates, meaning that it is likely to be a political headache for the property casualty insurance industry for some…
Recent Quakes Push Interest, Sales of Policies in California
Recent Quakes Push Interest, Sales of Policies in California

Some people don’t need Earth Day to be reminded they live on a planet powered by the forces of nature.The recent string earthquakes on the Pacific belt may have hit home with California homeowners, who were already a bit shaken up by the 5.1 magnitude…
The Strip Mining of Legal Rights
The Strip Mining of Legal Rights

By: Ralph Nader and Theresa AmatoThe fine print in standard form contracts is undermining tort law, and it is not limited to mandatory arbitration. Corporations use it to insulate themselves and take away consumers’ tort law rights in other ways, including unfair choice of law…
Bank of America Settles Forced-Place Insurance Claims for $228M
Bank of America Settles Forced-Place Insurance Claims for $228M

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $228 million to settle claims the bank overcharged for insurance homeowners were forced to accept when their regular policies lapsed.The amount was disclosed in a document requesting approval for the accord filed yesterday in Miami federal court. Lawyers…
Storm Sandy Mediation Program: A Learning Experience
Storm Sandy Mediation Program: A Learning Experience

By: Dan Wade, Staff Attorney The government-sponsored Storm Sandy mediation programs in New York and New Jersey offered the promise of a low-cost easy access forum for disaster survivors to sit down face-to-face with their insurer to resolve claim disputes. A modest number of homeowners…
New York Federal Court Consolidates Pending Hurricane Sandy Cases
New York Federal Court Consolidates Pending Hurricane Sandy Cases

UPdate 7/18/14 At the request of insurers, three New York Magistrate Judges overseeing the Consolidated Case have asked plaintiffs to withdraw supplemental state law “bad faith” claims. The three-judge panel explained that plaintiffs have failed to address these claims in accordance with the Court’s discovery…
Flood Ebbs, Insurance Woes Don’t
Flood Ebbs, Insurance Woes Don’t

The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., isn’t the only one complaining that her Hurricane Sandy relief money has been held hostage. Some homeowners whose properties were damaged by the storm would say the same about their flood insurance carriers: More than a year after the hurricane…
Flood insurance reform law – what it means to homeowners
Flood insurance reform law – what it means to homeowners

By Marjorie Musick The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 was passed in July and requires the National Flood Insurance Program NFIP) to raise insurance rates for some older properties in high-risk areas to reflect the true flood risk. Some homeowners have already received…
New York Regulator Lawsky asks colleagues to take action against forced-place insurance overcharges
New York Regulator Lawsky asks colleagues to take action against forced-place insurance overcharges
Deadline for filing flood insurance claims from Sept. 2013 CO disaster extended 21 days
Deadline for filing flood insurance claims from Sept. 2013 CO disaster extended 21 days

UP encouraged Colorado public officials and residents to ask FEMA to extend the 60 day deadline for flood victims to file insurance claims. Many people still don’t have access to their homes – so it’s impossible for them to get a complete evaluation/scope of loss…
November 6, 2013 United States Senate Hearing – One Year Later: Examining the Ongoing Recovery From Hurricane Sandy
November 6, 2013 United States Senate Hearing – One Year Later: Examining the Ongoing Recovery From Hurricane Sandy

http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/emdc/hearings/one-year-later-examining-the-ongoing-recovery-from-hurricane-sandy
Bach Talk – Regulators should review policies and get more resources
Bach Talk – Regulators should review policies and get more resources

A recent California legal case shines light on a fact that will surprise many, but not me:  California’s Insurance Commissioner, considered by many to be the most diligent consumer advocate among the 50 state’s regulators – does not as a matter of course, review, approve…
Flood insurance program extends Proof of Loss deadline for Sandy claims
Flood insurance program extends Proof of Loss deadline for Sandy claims

On October 1st, 2013, the National Flood Insurance Program extended the deadline for filing Superstorm Sandy proofs of loss for another 6 months past the current October 28th, 2013 deadline. United Policyholders commends the program for giving this much needed breathing room to property owners.…
Raising the roof on home insurance fine print
Raising the roof on home insurance fine print

Dean Jarvis is a State Farm agent in Tennessee who believes that home insurance should protect a person’s home.  He’s blown the whistle on a reduced coverage product that Allstate rolled out in Oklahoma and has now gotten the OK to sell in many other…
Flood insurance prices expected to surge
Flood insurance prices expected to surge

A tide of flood insurance rate increases is rolling in, despite the efforts of state and federal legislators to stem it in waterlogged areas, with 25 percent hikes in the offing beginning Oct. 1, 2013. The nonprofit consumer group United Policyholders, which provides insurance advice…