May 12, 2011 New Rules for Surplus (“Non-Admitted”) Insurers With the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act July 21, 2011, implementation deadline looming, California is gearing up to comply with new surplus lines regulations.
May 10, 2011 Under My Umbrella No one wants to pay for insurance they don’t need. Most people go a lifetime without being sued, so the idea of buying more than basic insurance against lawsuits (“Liability Insurance”) may seem unnecessary. But the legal expenses you’ll incur if you ever are sued…
April 20, 2011 Tornadoes: Extreme Weather Revs Up Insurance Costs In the wake of more than 245 tornadoes that slammed into parts of North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and other southern states last weekend, leaving 45 people dead and leveling hundreds of homes, insurance companies have been flooded with thousands of claims, which ultimately could mean…
April 18, 2011 Got Insurance? Enough? You Sure? Many U.S. homeowners haven’t insured their homes against earthquakes and other disasters, but the devastating losses in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan may cause people to give their insurance policies another look. As well they should. Earthquakes have occurred in…
April 11, 2011 San Bruno victims get tax breaks on donations San Bruno victims get tax breaks on donationsSurvivors of the San Bruno gas line explosion won’t have to pay state taxes on donations received, state leaders decided this week.Gov. Jerry Brown late Wednesday signed a bill from Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, previously approved by…
April 11, 2011 Allstate faces whistle-blower suit Another whistle-blower lawsuit alleges fraudulent handling of federal flood claims after Hurricane Katrina.The case, filed against Allstate, has just been unsealed in Louisiana’s Eastern District. (H/T to slabbed) Policyholder attorney Johnny Denenea filed the lawsuit back in May 2007. He amended it in November 2009,…
April 11, 2011 Will Americans pay attention to earthquake insurance now? The advice can’t get any simpler than this: “People who live near fault lines should have earthquake insurance,” says Amy Bach, executive director of the United Policyholders consumer organization. Will the disaster in Japan be the crisis that compels Americans in quake-prone areas to pay…
April 5, 2011 Maximizing Protection Against Disruptions to Your Supply or Distribution Chain Focus as soon as possible on establishing the extent and scope of your insurance coverage in order to be able to present an insurance claim that will maximize recovery for any losses.Calculating Loss: Calculating the total loss for an interruption claim is not as easy…
April 4, 2011 Shaken and Stirred The horrific images and aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami should be a call to action for property owners and public officials, and not just in California. There are known (and unknown) faults in the mid-west and throughout the United States. Yet in California…
April 3, 2011 What to know before you buy flood insurance SAN FRANCISCO CBS 5) – It will take some effort, but it is possible for San Francisco residents to buy flood insurance. According to Amy Bach of the consumer group United Policyholders, some San Francisco residents have been having a hard time buying policies. Bach…
March 28, 2011 Are you insured for the Big One? Just 12% of homes in the state with fire insurance also have earthquake coverage, according to the California Earthquake Authority. Here’s what consumers shopping for coverage need to know. Reporting from Sacramento— The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan will cost insurance companies billions…
March 23, 2011 Accidental Death Becomes Suicide When Insurers Dodge Payouts Jane Pierce spent nine years struggling alongside her husband, Todd, as he fought cancer in his sinus cavity. The treatments were working. Then, in July 2009, Todd died in a fiery car crash. He was 46. That was the beginning of a whole new battle…
March 23, 2011 Forged MetLife “Checks” Show Retained-Asset Account Risks After her mother died, Jasmine Williams was assured by MetLife Inc. that her $101,819 in life insurance benefits were safe and was sent what the company called a guaranteed money market “checkbook” in 2002. The next year, Williams, then 19, told New York-based MetLife that…
March 23, 2011 New Zealand earthquake preparedness: Authorities battled complacency Wellington, New Zealand New Zealanders have received a violent wake-up call: It’s past time to be prepared for the “Big One” – the long-feared major earthquake authorities have been warning about for years.As this small island nation picks up the pieces from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake…
March 23, 2011 Travel Insurance: The Revolution Won’t Be Covered Most policies don’t cover things like Egypt’s unrest or New Zealand’s quake. They typically pay off if you get sick and need a flight home. International travelers are cursed with interesting times: The first two months of 2011 already have been marked by an earthquake…
March 3, 2011 Determining the Right Coverage Patrick Rodgers, the Philadelphia homeowner with the “foreclosure” case against Wells Fargo Home Mortgage that made him a national celebrity, declared victory last week. To settle his claim under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, he says, Wells Fargo WFC) agreed to reverse thousands of…
February 24, 2011 Ignore Ads When Buying Insurance “I would encourage people to completely ignore the marketing materials you receive from the insurers. The information is geared to persuade people to buy the product. It doesn’t explain the benefits clearly,” says former industry insider Wendell Potter in a recent New York Times interview. Potter’s advice…
February 22, 2011 Are Insurance Companies Letting Down Colorado Forest Fire Victims? Buyer beware: Residents grappling with rebuilding costs after the Fourmile Fire near Boulder may receive only a fraction of the money they need to restore their homes. Do insurance companies underinsure customers as a means of staying competitive? For many victims of the Fourmile Fire…
