Fight heats up over bill to allow property insurers to raise rates on their own
Fight heats up over bill to allow property insurers to raise rates on their own

The fight is heating up against legislation that would allow large property insurers to raise rates without state approval. Eight consumer groups including the Consumer Federation of the Southeast and the Florida Public Interest Research Group have implored Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the bill…
Fla. ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill Angers Consumer Groups
Fla. ‘Consumer Choice’ Bill Angers Consumer Groups

NU Online News Service, May 26, 3:38 p.m. EDT A Florida bill that would allow some insurers to charge rates above those approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation provided they meet certain capital requirements has drawn the ire of consumer groups. In order to…
Florida governor vetoes deregulation bill
Florida governor vetoes deregulation bill
Insurers should pay for their own mistakes
Insurers should pay for their own mistakes

Consumer Watchdogs Want Insurers To Rein In Surge Costs NU Online News Service, April 22, 8:52 a.m. EDT Consumer watchdogs are urging a closer look at insurers’ estimation of post-catastrophe material and labor price increases, citing a study questioning demand surge figures used to set…
My View: HB 1171 is simply a gift to insurers
My View: HB 1171 is simply a gift to insurers

My View In the strongest possible terms, we urge Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the home insurance deregulation bill, SB2036/HB1171. This bill is an invitation for insurers to game the Florida regulatory system and abuse consumers. No price can be too high, no discrimination can…
Public Interest Groups Ask California Supreme Court to Rehear Case on Consumer Protection Law
Public Interest Groups Ask California Supreme Court to Rehear Case on Consumer Protection Law

Groups Want Reversal on Ruling That Companies Can Continue Illegal Practices Until Someone Gets Hurt SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In an extraordinary request made late yesterday, eight public interest organizations asked the California Supreme Court to scrap its recent decision barring consumers…
Veto Anti-Consumer Property Insurance Rates Bill
Veto Anti-Consumer Property Insurance Rates Bill

Not one Floridian has been spared from the challenges of these tough economic times. Yet a bill that would allow a select few, big property insurance companies to sneak unrestrained, unregulated and unrelenting rate hikes on unsuspecting consumers will arrive at Governor Crist’s desk over…
Appeal would reveal claims denied
Appeal would reveal claims denied

A Coast policyholder is appealing to the state Supreme Court for access to Mississippi Insurance Department records that would show the dollar amount of Katrina claims denied by insurance companies. Long Beach policyholder Kevin Buckel filed a written request in January 2009 for records showing…
’08 Wildfire Victims Insured with AIG Get $$$ Help from CDI and UP
’08 Wildfire Victims Insured with AIG Get $$$ Help from CDI and UP

Survivors to receive an average $100,000 to $125,000 in Additional Coverage Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that the California Department of Insurance CDI) has secured between $37 million and $46 million in additional coverage from AIG for Sayre Fire survivors in Sylmar. Commissioner Poizner…
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage

The California Department of Insurance CDI) has secured between $37 million and $46 million in additional coverage from AIG for Sayre Fire survivors in Sylmar. Commissioner Poizner was joined by Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón; Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders and a…
Disappearing Disability Insurance Fails Family
Disappearing Disability Insurance Fails Family

There’s no question that Jay Thompson is disabled. Three years, at age 44, he developed ALS — Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now he lays immobilized in a hospital bed. So the question is: What happened to his disability insurance? “We believed that it would take care…
Fire Insurance Explained
Fire Insurance Explained

With stories ranging from “My insurance company is just being too good to be true” to “I’ve been with my insurance company for 21 years, never made a claim, just lost my house, and now they’ve cancelled me,” about 50 Jesusita and Tea fire survivors…
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork
For a Yorba Linda family, fighting fire with paperwork

The wildfire survivor profiled in this Orange County Register article has been attending United Policyholders’ Roadmap to Recovery meetings and was pictured in our spring newsletter receiving her copy of the Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide. Readers mourned and complained when we ended…
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim
Four Things You Should Know About Your Fire Insurance Claim

California’s burning, again; the flames north of Los Angeles, also known as the Station Fire, have already killed two people, and are threatening tens of thousands of homes, causing the governor to declare a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties. So of…
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina
Hundreds of insurance lawsuits still pending in MS. at 4th anniversary of Katrina

OCEAN SPRINGS — It was just another in the rush of federal suits against Mississippi insurers last August, just before the three-year statute of limitations after Hurricane Katrina expired. Except it wasn’t. Without a lawyer, then-77-year-old Maralou Richards of Ocean Springs filed a handwritten complaint…
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire
Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire

Insurance Commissioner Poizner Secures Close to $46 Million in Additional Coverage for AIG Customers Who Suffered Losses in Sylmar Wildfire Survivors to receive an average $100,000 to $125,000 in Additional Coverage Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that the California Department of Insurance CDI) has…
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims
Long, Difficult Road To Recovery For 2007 Fire Victims

Just one third have rebuilt; one half submitted plans for reconstruction Two years after the 2007 firestorm, the path to recovery continues to be slow and arduous for hundreds of San Diego County residents who lost their homes. Only one-third have finished rebuilding. And nearly…
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help
Oakridge park fire victims fight AIG and win with state’s help

SYLMAR – Oakridge resident Joanne Nadeau, who lost her mobile home in November’s Sayre Fire, can now rebuild thanks to additional money secured by the state’s Department of Insurance. Instead of getting $165,000 from her AIG insurance policy, Nadeau will receive nearly $300,000. “Now I…