Insurance Companies Continue to Settle With States on Unclaimed Life Insurance Policies – Could One Be Yours?
Insurance Companies Continue to Settle With States on Unclaimed Life Insurance Policies – Could One Be Yours?

Multiple life insurance companies have reached multi-state settlements regarding an industry-wide practice of companies failing to pay death benefits to the beneficiaries of life insurance policies, despite having access to federal records indicating that policyholders had died, or direct confirmation from relatives of the deceased. Instead,…
Buying life insurance for America’s most dangerous jobs
Buying life insurance for America’s most dangerous jobs

Not all jobs are created equal. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics rates occupations based on the rate of accidents and fatal on-the-job injuries, highlighting the most dangerous jobs in the country. One of the top most dangerous jobs in the country is fishing. Fishermen…
Driver Protection or Loss of Choice? NY SUM Debate Awaits Approval
Driver Protection or Loss of Choice? NY SUM Debate Awaits Approval

When the New York Legislature passed amendment S. 7787/ A. 10784 in June, there were both cheers and jeers. It’s now the center of a debate between those who believe it’s protection for drivers and others who think it’s a loss of choice for consumers.…
Before catastrophe strikes
Before catastrophe strikes

People whose homes were damaged by Superstorm Sandy will soon find out whether they have the right kind of insurance and enough to rebuild. In other recent disasters, one-half to two-thirds of homeowners discovered after the fact that they were underinsured, often by hundreds of…
Tips for making insurance claims after Sandy
Tips for making insurance claims after Sandy

One inevitable consequence of the megastorm named Sandy will linger for a long while after the devastation is cleaned up and the victims buried: a large number of insurance claims from people hoping to rebuild their homes and their lives. Sandy’s historic size and scope…
Superstorm spotlights home insurance
Superstorm spotlights home insurance

People whose homes were damaged by superstorm Sandy will soon find out whether or not they have enough and the right kind of insurance to rebuild. In other recent disasters, one-half to two-thirds of homeowners discovered after the fact that they were underinsured, often by…
A roadmap to emergency roadside assistance
A roadmap to emergency roadside assistance

You’re stranded by the side of the road with an empty gas tank, a flat tire or smoke pouring out of your hood. This is not the time to wonder why you didn’t buy roadside assistance with your auto insurance policy. Instead, experts say, you…
Is your insurance company spying on you?
Is your insurance company spying on you?

In a plugged-in, digitized, 24/7 world, it’s tough to keep your personal information private. So, in this hyper-digital age, just how much does your insurance company really know about you? “A lot more than most consumers realize,” says Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders,…
What does it take to keep customers satisfied with auto insurance claims?
What does it take to keep customers satisfied with auto insurance claims?

Overall satisfaction with the car insurance claims process has risen over the past year, despite the fact that claims are costing consumers more, according to a new study from market research giant J.D. Power and Associates. Using a 1,000-point scale, overall satisfaction by claim filers…
A 12-step plan for your Sandy insurance claim
A 12-step plan for your Sandy insurance claim

Some consumers will be shocked to learn that superstorm Sandy devastated not only cities, coastal areas and transit systems — but their pocketbooks, too. “A lot of people are going to have a rude wake-up call after this storm and realize that flood damage isn’t…
Insure Your Home Against Natural Disasters
Insure Your Home Against Natural Disasters

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, hundreds of thousands of homeowners will be filing claims for compensation for their losses. They could be facing a second disaster if their homes weren’t properly insured for wind and flood damage. Approximately two-thirds of homeowners are underinsured for…
Mandated car insurance vs. mandated health insurance: What’s the difference?
Mandated car insurance vs. mandated health insurance: What’s the difference?

If Americans don’t raise an eyebrow over being forced by law to buy car insurance, why the big stink over having to get health insurance? That debate was rekindled when talk show host Piers Morgan recently posed that question to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a…
Christie Administration Takes Action to Protect Storm-Impacted New Jersey Homeowners from Higher Insurance Deductibles
Christie Administration Takes Action to Protect Storm-Impacted New Jersey Homeowners from Higher Insurance Deductibles

Trenton, NJ – Taking action to save homeowners money following Hurricane Sandy, Governor Chris Christie signed Executive Order 107, prohibiting insurance companies from imposing costly hurricane deductibles on New Jersey homeowners. An important part of the recovery of New Jersey will be the influx of…
Governor Cuomo Announces Homeowners Will Not Have To Pay Hurricane Deductibles
Governor Cuomo Announces Homeowners Will Not Have To Pay Hurricane Deductibles

Department of Financial Services Working Closely with Insurers to Speed Response to Homeowners Who Experienced Losses New Yorkers Can Call DFS Disaster Hotline for Help Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York homeowners will not have to pay potentially large hurricane deductibles on…
The overlooked benefits of renters insurance
The overlooked benefits of renters insurance

The storm damage is still be tallied up from Sandy, but lot of New York residents will have to cover their losses themselves. That’s because most households in New York city rent — nearly 70 percent — and renter’s insurance isn’t a very popular product.…
Storms push insurance rates sky-high
Storms push insurance rates sky-high

Insurers say they’re tired of rolling the dice with Mother Nature and losing, but critics say rate increases have gone too far. Homeowners insurance premiums are soaring in Minnesota, and consumers can expect more rate shocks ahead as insurance companies wager that a run of…
Coverage drying up? UP water alert
Coverage drying up? UP water alert

As a downpour drenched but did not deter our Giants this week and we watched the East Coast brace for Frankenstorm, it reminded me that it is time to remind our readers that there are now big differences in how property policies cover (and don’t…
Doctors, Hospitals Nationwide Adding Fees to Medical Bills
Doctors, Hospitals Nationwide Adding Fees to Medical Bills

Call Kurtis Investigates: Doctors, Hospitals Nationwide Adding Fees to Medical Bills Hospitals and doctors offices across the country are tacking fees onto your bill, a CBS13 Call Kurtis investigation has learned. Doug Rischbieter of Arnold booked his appointment six weeks early, he said, with a…