After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program
After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program

Less than 48 hours after torrential rains flooded parts of Houston in late May, AJ Culembourg found herself ripping up floor boards inside the rental property she and her husband remodeled 18 months ago. Flood waters had reached as high as 18 inches inside the…
4 most common reasons why insurers deny life insurance claims
4 most common reasons why insurers deny life insurance claims

When you buy a life insurance policy, there’s a chance your beneficiary’s claim may be denied – and it’s important for you to know how this can happen. Insurers examine the terms of policies carefully before paying claims, to make sure policyholders have fulfilled their…
FEMA To Allow Superstorm Sandy Victims To Review Flood Claims
FEMA To Allow Superstorm Sandy Victims To Review Flood Claims

FEMA is mailing letters to more than 140,000 Superstorm Sandy victims. The letters ask if they want their flood insurance claim to be reviewed. This comes after months of scrutiny and accusations that the private insurance companies who help run the federal flood program shortchanged…
Letters go out to Sandy victims who want to reopen claims
Letters go out to Sandy victims who want to reopen claims

The National Flood Insurance Program began mailing letters to superstorm Sandy victims Monday to start the process of reviewing thousands of claims that may have been underpaid after the 2012 disaster.The first round of roughly 15,000 notices are going to homeowners whose properties were inspected…
Shop so you don’t drop (more $ than you should)
Shop so you don’t drop (more $ than you should)

The quality of your insurance really does matter, but figuring out which policy will give you more protection is tricky. UP can guide you on what to look for and avoid, but getting the real scoop and comparing different options is very hard to do…
FEMA will reopen Superstorm Sandy claims this week
FEMA will reopen Superstorm Sandy claims this week

United Policyholders’ Executive Director Amy Bach talks with radio journalist Maggie Glynn of Magic 98.3 in New Jersey about the devastating woes still facing many Sandy victims. Bach and Glynn discuss what went wrong insurance-wise after Sandy, the reopen process, and the resources available on…
Being A Loyal Auto Insurance Customer Can Cost You
Being A Loyal Auto Insurance Customer Can Cost You

Many companies reward their most loyal customers with incentives, discounts and freebies. But in car insurance, the opposite can actually happen. A driver can be punished with a higher premium just for being loyal to the company. It’s called price optimization, and it happens to…
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…
Fed Probe Why Sandy Victims Were Shortchanged on Flood Insurance Claims
Fed Probe Why Sandy Victims Were Shortchanged on Flood Insurance Claims

Critics call for wide-ranging, structural reforms to ensure problems encountered after Sandy don’t happen again Amid the stress and confusion in the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of coastal communities found themselves struggling to comprehend their losses and how to begin to put things…
The List: 10 Reasons Why Insurance Companies May Have Underpaid Sandy Victims
The List: 10 Reasons Why Insurance Companies May Have Underpaid Sandy Victims

Theories abound in the absence of clear information about just what went on behind the scenes in the aftermath of disastrous storm In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, many insurance policyholders were denied coverage after engineering reports determined that their damage supposedly pre-existed the storm…
FEMA mulls overhaul of flood insurance program amid claims of fraud, lack of oversight
FEMA mulls overhaul of flood insurance program amid claims of fraud, lack of oversight

Lawmakers and federal officials trying to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program are considering dismantling a sprawling system that relies on more than 80 separate companies to sell policies, collect premiums and calculate damages after disasters. The move, in response to allegations that claims were…
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…
Property owners face important deadlines on second anniversary of wildfire
Property owners face important deadlines on second anniversary of wildfire

El Paso County, CO, April 29, 2015 – With the two year anniversary of the Black Forest Fire approaching El Paso County reminds property owners to keep in mind important insurance deadlines. “Residents impacted by the Black Forest Fire need to meet certain deadlines in…
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…
Roadmap to Preparedness UPdate
Roadmap to Preparedness UPdate

THRIVE-ing after a flood After a winter storm caused severe flooding south of San Francisco, UP answered evacuees’ insurance questions at a temporary shelter and help center in San Mateo, California. Several months later at a Enhancing Community Resilience Conference hosted by the THRIVE alliance…
Bank’s offer of ‘free’ insurance is dubious way to appreciate customers
Bank’s offer of ‘free’ insurance is dubious way to appreciate customers

Sally Hwang recently spotted a payment of $8.10 on her checking account statement for accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Problem was, she had no recollection of signing up for such coverage. Worse, it appeared the Glendale resident had been making the payment every quarter for…