Tips from the Trenches: June 2009
Tips from the Trenches: June 2009

With the hot summer months approaching, and grim predictions of droughts in California and other western states, we’re anticipating a bad wildfire season. The wildfire that just destroyed 80 more homes in Santa Barbara is proof. Read UP’s new “Preparedness Tips from the Trenches” for…
Make a human connection at your mortgage company
Make a human connection at your mortgage company

If your property has been damaged and you’ve filed an insurance claim, when your insurance company sends you a check to pay for the repairs, it will probably be made out to you and your mortgage company. You’ll need to negotiate with the mortgage company…
The New Lawyer — How Settlement Strategies And Opportunities Have Affected The Responsibilities And Functions Of Litigation Counsel
The New Lawyer — How Settlement Strategies And Opportunities Have Affected The Responsibilities And Functions Of Litigation Counsel

By Guy O. Kornblum, San Francisco, California Anyone who has been involved in the dispute-resolution mechanism knows what a laborious and often mysterious process it can be.  Mediation allows the parties involved in the dispute to sidestep the litigation process, while also getting results.  Because…
A watered down NAIC climate change survey; but CA Dept. stands firm on original format
A watered down NAIC climate change survey; but CA Dept. stands firm on original format

For the past four years, UP has been working on insurance issues at the national level by serving as an appointed consumer representative at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).  NAIC meetings are the forum through which regulators in the 50 states coordinate their…
Partnering with the Red Cross; Great grant news
Partnering with the Red Cross; Great grant news

We’re excited to report that UP is partnering with Red Cross chapters in San Bernardino County and in the Bay Area.  The goal of the partnerships is to encourage property owners to be insurance/disaster prepared and take advantage UP’s free tools to inventory property and…
Legislative victories for consumers in New York and Missouri
Legislative victories for consumers in New York and Missouri

After many trips to the State Capital, New York Attorney Jon Wilkofsky, (Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel and Cummins along with Ron Papa (Nat’l Fire Adjustment Co.) and others, finally succeeded in getting an appraisal bill passed and signed in the Empire State.  The bill allows a policyholder to go to…
Home Sweet (Insured, New) Home
Home Sweet (Insured, New) Home

If you’re in the market to buy a home, So Cal Farmers Agent Ross Allen Veckey offers this advice: Research insurance costs BEFORE submitting an offer, get comparison quotes, and don’t rely on your realtor or loan officer to arrange for the coverage. Veckey writes: Buying a…
The inside scoop on health care reform
The inside scoop on health care reform

The official title of the law that’s being referred to as “health care reform” is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”).   Some of PPACA’s provisions are on a fast track toward implementation; others will be phased in more gradually.  The fast…
What’s UP with Health Care Reform?
What’s UP with Health Care Reform?

The changes we’ll see in our health care and insurance system as a result of the historic PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) legislation that was signed into law by President Obama in March 2010 will be implemented in phases. State insurance regulators, the…
Amicus Project Update: May 2010
Amicus Project Update: May 2010

UP has now filed 292 amicus briefs advocating for policyholders big and small since our Amicus Project was launched. Below are the summaries of briefs we’ve filed this year in the US Supreme Court, and high courts in California, New York, Texas and Utah. Visit…
Good friends in (HHS) high places, and the mind-boggling salaries of insurance executives
Good friends in (HHS) high places, and the mind-boggling salaries of insurance executives

This year the NAIC welcomed a historically large group of highly qualified participants into its consumer representative program.  Not a moment too soon. Some of the “near term” (fast track) provisions of PPACA (health care reform) have to be implemented as early as this coming…
Volunteer Spotlight
Volunteer Spotlight

May 2010 Kim Card A graduate of Stanford University Law School, Kim Card heads up her own law practice in Berkeley, California. She recently wrote UP’s brief pro bono for Davis v. Ford Motor Credit Company and Fairbanks v. Superior Court of California (2008). February…
Public Adjuster Representation in Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Claims Extends the Time to Reach a Settlement and Also Increases Payments to Citizens’ Policyholders
Public Adjuster Representation in Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Claims Extends the Time to Reach a Settlement and Also Increases Payments to Citizens’ Policyholders
The high cost of quake insurance will rock your bank account
The high cost of quake insurance will rock your bank account
Press Release: United Policyholders Urges Homeowners to Reconsider Earthquake Insurance After 7.2 Temblor Shakes Mexico and San Diego
Press Release: United Policyholders Urges Homeowners to Reconsider Earthquake Insurance After 7.2 Temblor Shakes Mexico and San Diego

Consumer Group Supports Federal Legislation to Lower Cost of EQ Insurance For Immediate Release: SAN DIEGO – April 6, 2010- Sunday’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake, just 40 miles south of the USA-Mexico border, is a reminder to all Californians that the next big quake could happen…
Is Green Insurance Worth the Price?
Is Green Insurance Worth the Price?

Insurers are increasingly offering insurance discounts if you already own an environmentally friendly home or car as well as additions to standard policies that cover the costs of going green when renovating after a loss. According to the Insurance Information Institute, as of last December,…
Hurricane Headache – Insurance Costs Keep Climbing
Hurricane Headache – Insurance Costs Keep Climbing

MOBILE, Ala. WALA) – If you own a home along the Gulf Coast, you learn to dread hurricane season. You worry about damage to your home and the damage to your wallet caused by ever increasing insurance rates. The problem is getting so bad, some…
The Big One and the Big Question
The Big One and the Big Question

UP has put together practical guidance for property owners who are torn over whether or not to buy earthquake insurance. We have gathered advice from financial planners, insurance agents, and damage repair experts. We have created a series of easy-to-follow tips, articles and home inventory aids.…