Help with flood insurance claims
Help with flood insurance claims

There are things you can do to make life easier when it’s time to file your insurance claims. We talked to the consumer advocacy group, United Policyholders and they said you should take pictures before and after the evacuation, document how much water entered your…
Oroville shows importance of flood insurance
Oroville shows importance of flood insurance

The near-disaster at Lake Oroville last week shows once again why homeowners and renters might consider buying flood insurance, even if their lender does not require it. Anyone with a federally backed mortgage is required to have flood insurance if they live in a high-risk…
Rainpocalypse
Rainpocalypse

If your property has been damaged due to a heavy rain and high winds, it can be tricky to collect insurance benefits to pay for repairs. Home and renters policies exclude some but not all types of water damage.  “Flood” damage (the policy should define…
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Surplus lines/non-admitted insurers
The “Catch UP” webinar series: Surplus lines/non-admitted insurers

Representing policyholders in litigation involving surplus lines/”non-admitted” insurance companies: “Surplus lines” (also known as “non-admitted”) insurers are a form of company set up in part to avoid the full spectrum of regulations, solvency and other oversight requirements that apply to “admitted” companies. Surplus lines companies often…
Texas Stamping Office: Upward Trend Continues for Surplus Lines
Texas Stamping Office: Upward Trend Continues for Surplus Lines

Overall, 2016 ended on a positive note for the U.S. excess and surplus lines insurance industry, according to the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). Nationally, nearly $26 billion in surplus lines insurance premium was recorded for end-of-year 2016, which is a 3.27 percent…
California Surplus Lines Are Now A Bigger Chunk of the Commercial Market
California Surplus Lines Are Now A Bigger Chunk of the Commercial Market

The phrase “new normal” might be a cliché, but it was too hard for Ben McKay, executive director of the Surplus Lines Association of California, to avoid using when describing the state’s excess and surplus market in 2016 and going forward. Surplus lines has become…
Here to help
Here to help

The insurance premiums you pay as an individual or business entitle you to benefits and good claim service in the event of a loss. You should not have to hire professional help to get your claim paid fairly, and often you don’t. But when you…
Online DIY options to bolster your personal finances
Online DIY options to bolster your personal finances

USA TODAY – Once the optimistic glow surrounding New Year’s financial resolutions wears off — hello, February! — it’s time to roll up your sleeves before losing momentum altogether. Whether you aim to save money or get stuff organized, many apps and websites are available…
Calif. Regulation Revival Boosts Home Coverage Confidence
Calif. Regulation Revival Boosts Home Coverage Confidence

The California Supreme Court’s ruling Monday 2017) reviving the state insurance commissioner’s challenged regulation aimed at producing more accurate insurer estimates of home replacement costs provides greater certainty for homeowners on property coverage and should reduce litigation between policyholders and carriers, experts say. In a…
Press Release: United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims
Press Release: United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims

Insurance Companies now held to higher standard for setting homeowners policy limits; Court finds Insurance Commissioner has authority to regulate replacement cost estimates SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 23, 2017 – United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit insurance consumer organization, today praised a California Supreme Court…
United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims
United Policyholders Praises California Supreme Court Decision That Will Help Underinsured Wildfire Victims

Insurance Companies now held to a higher standard for setting homeowners policy limits; Court finds Insurance Commissioner has authority to regulate replacement cost estimates SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 23, 2017 – United Policyholders (UP), a nonprofit insurance consumer organization, today praised a California Supreme…
Court backs rules to protect fire victims from being underinsured
Court backs rules to protect fire victims from being underinsured

California’s insurance commissioner has the authority to adopt rules that protect homeowners whose policies fall far short of the amounts needed to rebuild or replace homes destroyed by wildfires or other disasters, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Insurance companies usually give homeowners estimates of…
Justices Back Calif. Insurance Commissioner in Feud With Industry
Justices Back Calif. Insurance Commissioner in Feud With Industry

The California Supreme Court dealt property insurers a blow on Monday, reversing lower court rulings that had limited the state insurance commissioner’s authority and blocked a rule the industry had slammed as overly prescriptive and burdensome. The lawsuit by two state industry trade associations challenged…
NAIC Announces 35 Consumer Representatives for 2017
NAIC Announces 35 Consumer Representatives for 2017

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC) recently named 35 consumer liaison representatives for 2017. The 22 funded and 13 unfunded consumer representatives began their terms Jan. 1. Eighteen of the funded consumer representatives participated in the program in 2017. Established in 1992, the Consumer…
Wildfire Risk Reduction and Insurability
Wildfire Risk Reduction and Insurability

In the age of big data and GPS mapping, insurers are increasingly using complicated and opaque models to set their rates. FireLine is one name brand model created and sold to insurers by Verisk/Insurance Services Office. FireLine looks at a number of criteria (slope, access,…
Consumer Watchdog collects millions, but does it lower your insurance rates?
Consumer Watchdog collects millions, but does it lower your insurance rates?

Nearly 30 years ago, consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield wrote and helped qualify Proposition 103, the November 1988 ballot measure that overhauled state regulation of home and auto insurance rates. The initiative, dubbed by supporters as the “Voter Revolt to Cut Insurance Rates,” also contained a…
Prepared, not scared
Prepared, not scared

No, we’re not talking about doomsday predictions… We’re talking about the simple things you can do to create your own financial safety net to prepare for extreme weather and what that weather can do to the roof over your head or your source of income.…
Reforming Disability Claim Procedures Under ERISA
Reforming Disability Claim Procedures Under ERISA

On Dec. 19, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor published in the Federal Register sweeping reforms to the regulations it issues under Section 503 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, aimed at eliminating bias in the ERISA disability claims and review process. Despite ERISA’s…