June 3, 2013 Recent New York Case re: Coverage for water from drain back up Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog, June 3, 2013 by Shaun Marker So You Have A Back Up Of Water From A Drain Line; Was Blockage On or Off the Insured Property?If you have a claim based on a back up of water from a drain…
June 3, 2013 Sandy update: Homeowners battle insurance adjusters They have argued themselves blue with insurance adjusters. And still their homes are gutted and smell of sodden wood.Six months after superstorm Sandy, a weary cadre of Long Islanders remains mired in fights over settlements from the National Flood Insurance Program. They tell of enduring…
June 2, 2013 Too Darn Hot In most areas of the U.S. right now, it’s just too darn hot. If you’re in the scary position of having to evacuate due to a nearby wildfire, but lucky enough to come home to a house still standing, consider this: Nearby flames, smoke and…
May 31, 2013 Unsettling It turns out the meaning of “settled” in the context of an insurance claim depends on who’s using it. 6 months after Superstorm Sandy, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), a national industry-funded group, claimed that 93 percent of the 1.5 million claims were “settled.” UP…
May 23, 2013 Allstate to get big test in Oklahoma In tornado-ravaged Oklahoma, Allstate Corp. is about to get a first true test of how consumers respond to its new, less generous approach to insuring homes. About 18 months ago, Oklahoma became the first state in the country to get Allstate’s new House and Home…
May 22, 2013 Tornado May Cost Property-Casualty Insurers a Couple of Billion Property-casualty insurance companies are expected to face at least a couple billion dollars of insured losses from the tornado near Moore, Okla., according to rough calculations by Wall Street analysts. Some consumer activists are already expressing concern about homeowners falling short of the needed money…
May 21, 2013 United Policyholders to Hold Post Waldo Canyon Fire Insurance Meeting El Paso County will host United Policyholders as it presents a “A Roadmap to Recovery: Workshop for Waldo Canyon Fire Survivors. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at Centennial Hall Auditorium, 200 S. Cascade. Topics of the workshop include…
May 9, 2013 Declarations: The Coverage Opinions Interview With Amy Bach, Executive Director of United Policyholders You can’t read coverage decisions, especially from supreme courts, without frequently seeing United Policyholders as an amicus party. So I’ve always been under the impression that the organization was one that filed amicus briefs in support of the interests of commercial policyholders some of them…
May 7, 2013 Time to Dust Off Those Old Insurance Policies With springtime comes spring cleaning. We may take the time to deep clean the house and clear out the garage, however, most of us don’t take the time to perform the same spring cleaning for our financial affairs. When was the last time you reviewed…
May 7, 2013 FEMA Announces 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge Recipients Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA) is pleased to announce the selection of 30 recipients to receive funding under the FEMA 2012 Community Resilience Innovation Challenge program. The program focuses on building local community resilience to man-made and natural disasters, with an emphasis on…
May 1, 2013 What’s UP? May 2013 Bach Talk We were excited to begin this newsletter with three major announcements: A recent legislative victory for policyholders in Colorado and two significant grants: One supporting Roadmap to Recovery services to Sandy victims in New Jersey, and another from FEMA to help the Bay…
April 30, 2013 5 problems that could be hiding in your home insurance policy It’s important to read the fine print of any contract, but consumers who buyhomeowner’s insurance especially should be vigilant. According to consumer-protection groups United Policyholders and the Consumer Federation of America, homeowner’s policies are becoming more difficult to understand. This is partly because carriers are…
April 22, 2013 Flood insurance lawsuit aimed at ‘basement’ definition A federal lawsuit accusing insurance companies of unfairly denying flood claims could have broad ramifications for Long Islanders who were denied coverage because their first floors were classified as basements. The class-action suit, filed in Newark, says insurers are wrongly refusing to pay for flood-damaged…
April 17, 2013 Does Minnesota Have a Match Law? We are constantly asked by our homeowner’s insurance paid renovation contractors whether Minnesota has a “match law” that requires an insurer to pay for a complete re-roof or re-siding of a customer’s improvement when a replacement match cannot be found. The short answer to the…
April 17, 2013 Sandy-struck homeowners face delay in cashing insurance checks Homeowners across Long Island are struggling with the cost of rebuilding from superstorm Sandy as they wait for banks and mortgage companies to release their insurance settlements more than two months after the storm. Insurers began cutting checks weeks ago, but most people can’t simply…
April 15, 2013 Covered by homeowners insurance? Don’t be so sure Bought or renewed a homeowners insurance policy lately? You’ve no doubt noticed that premiums have gotten pretty pricey. Rates have climbed 69% over the past decade to an average of $1,000 a year. What you may not realize is that you could be facing another…
April 15, 2013 Financial literacy should include insurance considerations People who are inspired to learn more about their finances during Financial Literacy Month shouldn’t overlook the effect that insurance can have on their bank accounts. Each April, financial education advocates urge consumers to take time to study money issues. An important part of achieving…
April 8, 2013 Fire report’s release stirs residents’ emotions, memories Residents of northwest Colorado Springs had a mix of reactions last week to the city’s review of the fire, often focusing on issues and emotions that continue to sometimes overwhelm them. Their memories of the June fire are vivid: many choke with gratitude when they…
