Bach Talk Summer 2012
Bach Talk Summer 2012

Computers don’t build houses… contractors do. Computers don’t provide medical treatment… doctors and nurses do. So while insurers are infatuated with using claim valuation software tools to increase profits by minimizing payouts… regulators and judges need to limit the use of these tools. Insurance company…
7 ways to fight rising home insurance premiums
7 ways to fight rising home insurance premiums

If your homeowner’s insurance policy is up for renewal, you may need to adjust your budget. According to the Insurance Information Institute, homeowners in many states will see rate increases in 2012 because of rising inflation, an increase in natural disasters and the lingering sour…
Thank you to our Bastrop Roadmap to Recovery speakers
Thank you to our Bastrop Roadmap to Recovery speakers

Thank you… To the volunteers who have donated their time and expertise as guest speakers at UP Roadmap to Recovery meetings and events in Bastrop, Texas. Tony Slagle, Office of the Public Insurance Council Les Little, Buck Keenan, LLP Andrew Slania, Doyle Raizner, LLP Clay…
Consumer Reports Rates Home Insurers
Consumer Reports Rates Home Insurers

Homeowners buy insurance to protect against disaster. But when disaster strikes, your insurer might not live up to your expectations, especially if you have a large claim, according to our survey of 11,250 subscribers who filed claims in the past few years. The greater the…
Let go (please) lender…
Let go (please) lender…

If you have a mortgage, the lender is almost always listed on your home insurance as an additional insured. So if your home is significantly damaged ($5,000 or more) and your insurer sends a check for the repairs, that check will usually be made out…
Homeowners offered new earthquake policy options
Homeowners offered new earthquake policy options

The California Earthquake Authority, hoping to increase the small percentage of people who have quake insurance, has introduced a line of policies called Choice that gives homeowners more coverage and premium options. For example, homeowners can pay a lower premium if they want to cover…
Enough’ Insurance is Often Not Enough
Enough’ Insurance is Often Not Enough

In the past few weeks, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history claimed two lives, burned nearly 30 square miles and totally destroyed more than 350 homes. Like almost all homeowners everywhere in the United States, nearly everyone who lost their house to this massive…
Larimer County Holds Free Workshop for Fire Survivors on Insurance, Rebuilding & Recovery
Larimer County Holds Free Workshop for Fire Survivors on Insurance, Rebuilding & Recovery

Larimer County will hold a public update meeting for High Park and Woodland Heights Fire survivors on Thursday, August 2 beginning at 6:30p.m. in the Hearing Room, 1st floor, Larimer County Courthouse Offices Building, 200 West Oak Street, Fort Collins for information on how to…
Family: State Farm Forced Us Into Tent, Onto Food Stamps
Family: State Farm Forced Us Into Tent, Onto Food Stamps

Members of a Boulder County family whose home was damaged by smoke during the Four Mile fire say they’re now living in a tent because their insurance company stopped paying for repairs and stopped paying their temporary rent. Linda Tarr and her husband David Doherty…
Insurance Rates: Will Mother Nature Raise Yours?
Insurance Rates: Will Mother Nature Raise Yours?

The wildfires raging out West and the freakish storms that ravaged much of the east have property insurers scrambling to keep up with all the claims. The current blitz of wildfires in Colorado is already the most destructive in the state’s history, and the blazes…
ConsumerWatch: Hospital Lab Tests May Lead To Expensive Results
ConsumerWatch: Hospital Lab Tests May Lead To Expensive Results

Even for those with health insurance, lab tests can end up costing a fortune if patients don’t ask some questions first. Pamela Campbell knows firsthand. Last year, Campbell’s six-year-old son needed a series of blood tests. The Oakland mother said her pediatrician gave her a…
More public meetings for fire survivors
More public meetings for fire survivors

The recovery process for survivors of the High Park Fire, their homes and land continues. Several workshops are planned to assist in the process. A Colorado State Forest Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Cache La Poudre Middle School, 3515…
Check Up on Your Home Insurance
Check Up on Your Home Insurance

The national average premium for homeowners insurance will increase by 5% in 2012, according to forecasts by the Insurance Information Institute. That follows an increase of nearly 4% in 2011, and it will bring the average annual premium to an all-time high of $1,000. At…
Estes Park fire victims learn of help and insurance
Estes Park fire victims learn of help and insurance

Estes Park town administrator Frank Lancaster told victims of the Woodland Heights fire that swept through the High Drive neighborhood June 23, turning 23 homes to soot and dust, that many organizations are available to help them. The burned-out residents attended an informational evening last…
Does your state insurance regulator make the grade?
Does your state insurance regulator make the grade?

When it comes to insurance, every state handles regulation differently, and this plays a significant role in whether a company wants to do business there. That’s why the folks at the nonprofit public policy think tank R Street Institute thought it was important to produce…
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend

The destruction from the wildfires that are raging in Colorado and elsewhere this summer is unspeakably sad. Hard work lies ahead. To those who will soon begin the excruciating process of inventorying and documenting their losses and those who just want to be educated; the…
U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act almost entirely
U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act almost entirely

On June 28th, 2012 the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) including its key requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance starting in 2014. This requirement – often referred to as the “individual mandate” will allow…
Larimer County officials begin to plan for High Park fire recovery work
Larimer County officials begin to plan for High Park fire recovery work

Larimer County will hire a disaster recovery manager for six months to help the county respond to the High Park fire, now at 83,262 acres, 248 homes lost and in its 18th day. As more than 2,000 firefighters continue to battle the blaze, now at…