The Storm after the Storm
The Storm after the Storm

The following is a script from “The Storm after the Storm” which aired on March 1, 2015. Sharyn Alfonsi is the correspondent. Oriana Zill de Granados and Michael Rey, producers.When Hurricane Sandy made its way towards the East Coast in the fall of 2012, residents…
FEMA Sued Over Records Related To Superstorm Sandy Victims And Other Flood Insurance Claims
FEMA Sued Over Records Related To Superstorm Sandy Victims And Other Flood Insurance Claims

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing a new lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization that wants a look at FEMA’s inner workings, especially the way its officials decide the fate of insurance appeals made by flood victims. United Policyholders, a San Francisco-based group that…
TOTALly worth the effort
TOTALly worth the effort

If your car is damaged in an accident to the point where repairs would cost more than the car is worth – it’s a “total loss.” Your, or the other driver’s insurance company, is supposed to offer you the actual cash value of your car.…
Nonprofit sues FEMA for records on disputed Sandy settlements
Nonprofit sues FEMA for records on disputed Sandy settlements

A nonprofit organization that helps disaster victims file insurance claims has sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying it ignored requests for documents related to disputed settlements from superstorm Sandy. United Policy Holders filed the federal lawsuit on Wednesday, accusing FEMA of violating the Freedom…
Good news for insured losses: 2014 was a relatively quiet year
Good news for insured losses: 2014 was a relatively quiet year

Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a global risk and reinsurance specialist, today released its annual Global Catastrophe Review, which reports that insured losses in 2014 were at the lowest level seen since 2009. According to the report, significant insured losses in 2014 totaled approximately $33…
The policyholder’s view on the Restatement of Liability Insurance
The policyholder’s view on the Restatement of Liability Insurance

With spring just around the corner, things at the American Law Institute (“ALI”) are heating up. The ALI is a Philadelphia-based group of law professors and lawyers that draft consensus treatises called “Restatements” on various areas of law. These treatises are oft-cited and taught in law schools…
Letter to American Law Institute regarding allocation rules in the draft Restatement (formerely Principles) of the Law of Liability Insurance
Letter to American Law Institute regarding allocation rules in the draft Restatement (formerely Principles) of the Law of Liability Insurance

“The default rule [in allocation cases] should be “all sums” or joint and several liability, and that the burden for contribution and subrogation should be on the insurer, not the policyholder. Without a doubt, the law should encourage the timely availability of insurance funds to…
Freedom of Information Act Request to DHS FEMA – WYOs and IAs
Freedom of Information Act Request to DHS FEMA – WYOs and IAs

On February 23, 2015, UP submitted a third Freedom of Information Act request to FEMA for information on the National Flood Insurenace Program. In this request, UP sough information on the contracts between Write-Your-Own insurers and Independent Adjusters in order to determine how payments and…
Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs Are Up but Vary Widely
Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs Are Up but Vary Widely

By ANN CARRNSRates for long-term care insurance, which can help pay for care in your own house or in a nursing home, rose this year an average of nearly 9 percent, a new industry report finds.Still, rates vary greatly depending on the insurer and the…
Lawyers, FEMA in talks to settle Sandy insurance appeals
Lawyers, FEMA in talks to settle Sandy insurance appeals

By JOE RYAN joe.ryan@newsday.com After months of deadlock, lawyers for hundreds of homeowners suing over flood insurance claims from superstorm Sandy said they made significant progress in talks Tuesday with federal officials to design a broad framework to settle the cases.The attorneys spent more than…
Insurance Commissioner notifies insurers to cease illegal pricing
Insurance Commissioner notifies insurers to cease illegal pricing

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today issued a notice to all property and casualty insurers doing business in California advising them that so-called “price optimization” in ratemaking is unfairly discriminatory and violates the law.Price optimization is used by insurers to set rates based…
Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Damage Reports Were Altered
Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Damage Reports Were Altered

When Frank Johnston’s insurance carrier rejected his claim that flooding from Hurricane Sandy had severely damaged the foundation of his Fire Island home, the company cited an engineering report that seemed to establish his problems were “unrelated” to the storm, and were caused instead by…
Did you not appreciate how an insurer depreciated your stuff? You’re not alone…
Did you not appreciate how an insurer depreciated your stuff? You’re not alone…

If you file an insurance claim for property that’s been destroyed, your insurer will value it in one of two ways:  Replacement Cost Value (RCV) or Actual Cash Value (ACV).  ACV is also known as “depreciated value” because it is based on the age and…
How the other half lives
How the other half lives

The people United Policyholders serves, is in close touch with and advocates for are the ones that fuel the insurance system by buying the products.  Their/our perspectives are what we know. Checking in on the other half of the system – the people who run…
The largely unregulated service plan industry is booming in South Carolina
The largely unregulated service plan industry is booming in South Carolina

A new type of junk mail has been showing up in South Carolinians’ mailboxes over the past year. The one thing that makes it stand out from the pile of coupons, scams, and credit card offers? The logo of a public utility company, bought and…
Insurers Superbowl 49 ad BLITZ rankles
Insurers Superbowl 49 ad BLITZ rankles

In case you missed Lindsay Lohan careening onto the curb just inches away from two dazed school boys to promote Allstate’s Esurance brand, or Nationwide’s more serious but controversial point about avoidable accidents – once again, insurance ads were front and center during yesterday’s Superbowl.…
Divorce and auto insurance: Splits boost cost
Divorce and auto insurance: Splits boost cost

If your marriage or domestic partnership ends, get ready for a possible hike in your car insurance premium. People often get discounts of up to 5 percent just for being part of a couple, says Jim Armitage, an insurance agent in Arcadia, Calif. That’s because…
UPwardly Mobile Insurability
UPwardly Mobile Insurability

“Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like a mobile home. But if you want to protect it, you need to have the right insurance.” Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com.  We saw just how true this is at an emergency shelter for San Mateo, California residents who’d been…