February 29, 2012 How much would it cost to replace your home? We test two online estimator services When considering how much home insurance to buy, the main issue isn’t how much your house is worth on the real estate market. More important is how much it will cost to rebuild the dwelling if it is destroyed. Your home’s reconstruction cost may be…
February 29, 2012 Too young for life insurance? The debate over policies for children Deciding whether to buy a life insurance policy for a child can be difficult, and there is strong disagreement over the benefits of such policies. Advocates assure you that life insurance policies for children are great financial tools as part of larger portfolios of savings…
February 21, 2012 What Type of Life Insurance Do I Need? About 11 million U.S. households with children under age 18 had no life insurance coverage as of 2010, according to LIMRA, a worldwide research and consulting organization for the insurance and financial services industry. Overall, less than half of U.S. households had individual life insurance,…
February 16, 2012 Consumer advocates raise the roof over Allstate’s new home insurance rule Some homeowners soon may see their insurance-related costs go through the roof. Eventually, Allstate customers with roofs more than 10 years old won’t have the full cost of new roofs covered under their home insurance policies. Allstate’s House & Home program will pay the “actual…
February 16, 2012 Flood disaster made worse by some insurers Any kind of disaster insurance can be very tricky. Fine print in a policy can mean the difference between having the money to rebuild – and having nothing. But, reports Julie Watts, of CBS station KPIX in San Francisco, a dispute over what caused a…
February 12, 2012 Advocacy in Alabama Property owners in coastal areas in the southeastern United States and as far north as Massachusetts continue to struggle to find home insurance they can afford through a company they can trust. UP recently addressed this issue before Alabama Governor Bentley’s Affordable Homeowners Insurance Commission.…
February 10, 2012 Consumer Groups Denounce Attack on Consumer Watchdog Mercury Insurance is only beneficiary of smear campaign The latest attack on Consumer Watchdog proves that when you take on powerful corporate interests and beat them, you make enemies. Consumer Watchdog is a courageous and remarkably successful advocate for consumer rights. An attack dog website…
February 8, 2012 New York Probes Home Insurers New York’s Department of Financial Services has been probing banks and insurance companies for allegedly obtaining excessive fees on homeowners’ policies that they force borrowers to pay for when their insurance lapses, said people familiar with the matter.Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky in the fall of…
February 1, 2012 What’s UP? ENews is Back! Roadmap to Recovery Thanks to a grant from the Austin Community Foundation, UP is currently providing wildfire insurance recovery support services in Bastrop, Texas (a half hour southeast of Austin). The homes of thousands of families were destroyed or damaged in a fast-moving wildfire in…
February 1, 2012 After the disaster: Uninsured homeowners have little to fall back on The images of the tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires of 2011 remain seared in our memories. You might live in one of the areas battered by weather tragedies. Or you might have frantically checked on friends and relatives who were affected by natural disasters.…
January 31, 2012 Life… consider the alternative If you’re thinking about buying or updating a life insurance policy, or supplementing one your employer provides, your first task should be to find a reputable, experienced broker. Even the most traditional life insurance policies can have a “catch” – be it premiums that skyrocket…
January 27, 2012 New rules help CA homeowners with insurance SACRAMENTO, Calif. KGO) — If a disaster strikes, is your home fully insured? New rules are now in effect to make sure you’re covered. 7 On Your Side’s Michael Finney explains. You pay for insurance for years, hoping to never need it. Then, there’s a…
January 18, 2012 Is your independent insurance agent truly an independent agent? It’s no secret that independent insurance agents — who sell auto, home and other types of coverage from more than one insurer — earn their keep through a commission each time a customer signs up for a policy. After all, they need to be compensated…
January 18, 2012 Consumer Groups Speak Their Piece on Regulation to FIO Consumer representatives to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners say in a letter to the Federal Insurance Office that effective insurance regulation requires greater transparency and substantive regulation.The letter also says that insurance regulation through market competition “would be inadequate,” and adds that regulatory modernization…
January 10, 2012 Insurers setting the stage for rate hikes Insurers stress ’11 a costly year, suggest rate hikes aheadBy ANITA LEE – calee@sunherald.comRecord insured losses globally in 2011 mean insurance companies will pay more for their own policies, called reinsurance, which is expected to lead to higher property insurance rates for policyholders.Representatives of Munich…
January 9, 2012 Take Advantage of UP As another busy year winds to a close, take a moment to browse UP’s new website and take advantage of all we have to offer: A “Deals and Discounts” section where you’ll find discounts on Home Improvement items, Earthquake Kits and Green Cleaning Products that…
January 5, 2012 How to Do a “Needs Analysis” Before you Buy Life Insurance When buying life insurance, don’t choose a policy before you understand the financial needs of your beneficiaries. Damon Bates, a vice president at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., says most people’s thinking is backwards when it comes to life insurance. They decide on the product…
January 1, 2012 Insurance Reform Legislation UP and wildfire survivors applaud policyholder protection legislation introduced in Colorado. United Policyholders is in our second year helping Boulder residents who were impacted by the September, 2010 “Fourmile Canyon” Wildfire. Through a series of educational workshops, outreach and services in coordination with Fourmile Fire…
