Allstate sponsorships raise local ire
Allstate sponsorships raise local ire

In a queue of more than 100 taxis that idled Thursday evening at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Farouk Sattar sat in the driver’s seat of his cab and waited for another chance to share his pointed message about Allstate Insurance Co. As the…
Group settles 22 Katrina cases with State Farm
Group settles 22 Katrina cases with State Farm

GULFPORT — The Merlin Law Group, which has only one policyholder lawsuit still open against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., announced Thursday a settlement has been reached with the company in 22 cases. “Obviously, we are pleased to settle without costly and lengthy litigation,”…
UP Weighs in for policyholders in CA Supreme Court
UP Weighs in for policyholders in CA Supreme Court

Briefing Begins in Fairbanks Can a consumer sue an insurance company under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act? The court of appeals says no, but the California Supreme Court will deliver the final word. The plaintiffs have filed their opening brief, and amicus briefs will be…
Allianz settles annuities cases
Allianz settles annuities cases

State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner will announce details today in Oakland of a $10 million settlement involving the sale of improper annuities to California seniors. by Minnesota-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Under the terms of the settlement, Allianz will enact more consumer…
CNBC Business Nation: Are you insured?
CNBC Business Nation: Are you insured?

Homeowners battle insurance companies over loss claims After the devastation of the California wildfires last October and record damage from hurricane Katrina, you’d think the homeowners insurance industry would be struggling. But you’d be wrong. Insurance companies are reeling in record profits — making more…
Insuring your home against disaster
Insuring your home against disaster

If the worst happens, you can’t be sure you’ll collect enough to bring back the home you love. Here’s what to do. Money Magazine) — If last fall’s devastating California wildfires weren’t enough of a wake-up call, consider this: Nearly 60% of homes nationwide don’t…
Allstate records raise yet more questions
Allstate records raise yet more questions

Beatrice E. Garcia At first glance, Allstate’s release of documents it has zealously guarded for more than a decade as ”trade secrets” could be seen as an orchestrated move to keep Florida regulators at bay and let the company keep writing new policies. Earlier this…
On AIG, Dinallo Goes Against Ex-Boss Spitzer
On AIG, Dinallo Goes Against Ex-Boss Spitzer

Three years after Eliot Spitzer decapitated the world’s largest insurer, his protégé has stepped in to try to save the company from collapse. New York’s insurance superintendent, Eric Dinallo, agreed yesterday to extend a lifeline to American International Group by easing state regulatory restrictions. It…
Spitzer Redux: N.Y.’s Insurance Chief Dinallo Strikes Familiar Chord
Spitzer Redux: N.Y.’s Insurance Chief Dinallo Strikes Familiar Chord

A hard-charging former prosecutor tries to set Wall Street right from his perch as a state official. His activist agenda brings populist praise, but also concerns he might overreach. Eliot Spitzer as New York attorney general in 2002, right? No, this time it’s state Insurance…
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial
Supreme Court Weighs Insurer’s Conflict of Interest in Claim Denial

The Supreme Court struggled last week with how much weight to give an insurance company’s potential conflict of interest when it denies an employee’s health or disability benefits claim. The lawyer representing the Ohio woman who sued MetLife Inc. over a disability claim argued that…
Calif. Department of Insurance Offers Help to San Diego Fire Victims
Calif. Department of Insurance Offers Help to San Diego Fire Victims

The California Department of Insurance is extending a helping hand to residents affected by the San Diego fires. The agency, along with Consumer advocacy groups, United Policyholders and RB United, will hold sessions to help affected residents collect their claims. Reporter, David Nogueras has more.…
California Bush Fire Victims Discover Belatedly They Are Underinsured
California Bush Fire Victims Discover Belatedly They Are Underinsured

Los Angeles, CA AHN) – A survey by United Policyholders slated for release Friday states widespread underinsurance of properties in California, unveiled by the recent wild bushfires. The San Francisco-based consumer organization surveyed 274 residents on the extent of the damage the wildfires caused on…
Companies, underinsured homeowners still in dispute over settlements stemming from 2007 wildfires
Companies, underinsured homeowners still in dispute over settlements stemming from 2007 wildfires

They spent a recent Saturday creating detailed lists of the contents of their houses – everything from dishes and bed linens to socks and unopened tubes of toothpaste. When memories failed, they turned to each other’s lists to jar their recollections. It was a long…
County has provided mental health services for victims of ’07 fires
County has provided mental health services for victims of ’07 fires

After his Fallbrook home was destroyed in the 2007 wildfires, Richard McDonnell realized that his friends didn’t understand his sense of loss, the grieving for destroyed heirlooms or the frustration over the the slow rebuilding process. Then McDonnell, 63, began attending the weekly group meetings…
Family Deals With Fire Aftermath, Insurance Issues
Family Deals With Fire Aftermath, Insurance Issues

SAN DIEGO — Lee and Shirley Taylor aren’t alone. They are victims of the October wildfires that destroyed their Ramona home. They’re also underinsured. “That was our request, insure us against total loss,” said Lee Taylor. He said his agent handed him a 108-page insurance…
Homeowners allege firms underinsured them for wildfires
Homeowners allege firms underinsured them for wildfires

San Diego County residents, saying they were misled into believing they had enough coverage, urge the state insurance commissioner to take action. Insurers say it’s not a severe problem. Reporting from Sacramento — As a wildfire sparked evacuations in Southern California on Wednesday morning, victims…
Insurance covers less this time
Insurance covers less this time

Policies scaled back after Katrina If Hurricane Gustav hits Louisiana, homeowners will discover that they have less insurance coverage than they did during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and they’ll be reaching into their own pockets to cover damage. In the past three years, the use…
Insurance firms face fire probe: Poizner’s response to UP’s Oct. 23rd Press Conference
Insurance firms face fire probe: Poizner’s response to UP’s Oct. 23rd Press Conference

California’s insurance commissioner has ordered his auditors to examine how insurance companies handled claims from last year’s devastating wildfires amid allegations from homeowners that some insurers misled them about how much coverage they needed. “We’ll be looking for patterns of behavior by insurance companies, of…