June 27, 2012 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…
June 22, 2012 Health care law saves consumers over $1 billion FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 21, 2012 Health care law saves consumers over $1 billion Health care law provides rebates to more than 12 million consumers Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 12.8 million Americans will benefit from $1.1 billion…
May 23, 2012 Save big on homeowners insurance Reviewing your homeowners policy may not rank high on our annual home-maintenance checklist. Yet following the five steps below will save you big bucks now and a lot of grief own the road. After the recent slew of natural disasters, average annual premiums are expected…
May 23, 2012 Wildfire Relief Donations Distributed Today the Austin Community Foundation is awarding more than $830,000 in grant money from the Central Texas Wildfire Fund. The money was donated by people from across the country and raised through the “Fire Relief” concert held last October. Nine organizations are receiving between $2,000…
May 22, 2012 Parent Power Parents’ options for insuring their kids, especially those with pre-existing conditions, have improved considerably in recent years, though more in some states than in others. An increasing number of states are now requiring insurers to cover treatment related to Autism. In the states that are…
May 16, 2012 Roofing Regulation Causes Last Minute Controversy A bill designed to protect homeowners when hiring a roofing company is on its way to Governor Hickenlooper’s office, but critics are spearheading an effort to get the measure vetoed. Their concern with the bill is the way it could be interpreted. Colorado’s historic hail…
May 16, 2012 RentSafe: Is it a safe choice for renter’s insurance? About half of American renters don’t have insurance. Some of them probably don’t realize that it’s fairly cheap to buy coverage that’ll protect them if their place catches fire, their stuff gets stolen or even if the dog bites a neighbor. “Renter’s insurance is very…
May 14, 2012 Fracked! Are you covered for manmade earthquakes? If a man-made earthquake damages your home, would your home insurance cover your losses? The answer lies in the details of your policy. Standard homeowners and renters policies exclude damage from earthquakes, but you can typically purchase either an endorsement or a separate earthquake policy…
May 14, 2012 Insurer witholds payment for child’s stolen walking braces A Roseville single mom says someone stole her daughter’s walking braces out of her car. When she couldn’t get her insurance company to pay up, she called Kurtis. She’s got medical insurance, car and homeowner’s insurance and thought someone should cover it and help her…
April 30, 2012 Greater Expectations If you weren’t thrilled with the way your insurer handled an auto accident claim, you’re not alone. Consumer satisfaction with auto claims is dropping, according to a recent study by J.D. Powers. Given how aggressively insurers compete for your auto business, you have the power…
April 23, 2012 Insurers say EQ Insurance an affordable option in Ohio to cover fracking damage April 16, 2012 – Last year’s uptick in the state’s seismic activity may have some Ohioans rethinking about the overall risk for earthquakes and the need for earthquake (EQ) insurance coverage. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey Ohio Seismic Network reports…
April 16, 2012 NAIC P/C Committee Sets New Disaster Charge, Draws Fire on Transparency The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’Property and Casualty Insurance Committee voted at its spring meeting to hold a public hearing on whether the organization should create model guidelines for processing claims in the wake of a natural disaster. But in the process, the committee drew…
April 16, 2012 The 10 Biggest Insurance Mistakes Americans Make Insurance is the last thing most people want to think about. Your eyes are probably already glazed over just from reading this title. Who in their right mind wants to mull over their finances, sift through unfamiliar jargon, and face piles of insurance-related paperwork? This…
April 16, 2012 Allstate Doubles Profits in Q4 Allstate Corp. reported that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter thanks to lower catastrophe losses and improved homeowners business.The big insurance company posted a fourth quarter net profit of $724 million compared to a fourth quarter profit of $296 million a year…
April 16, 2012 Life insurers settle with regulators and agree to be more pro-active in seeking out beneficiaries The California Department of Insurance and six other states have negotiated a $17 million settlement with Prudential Insurance Co. to speed up payouts to life insurance beneficiaries.The settlement requires Prudential to regularly check the Social Security “Death Master” file to determine whether any of its…
April 16, 2012 One homeowner’s travails: Even after more than six years, family can’t move back into “new” house By Bob Butler, Fellow, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism, and Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer |Each day, after wrapping up work as a streetcar operator, Kisa Holmes drives by to check on the house she bought in the Upper 9th Ward just weeks…
April 12, 2012 CFA: Insurers Becoming Experts at Risk-Avoidance Insurers are shifting the cost of risk to consumers and taxpayers, side stepping their traditional role of risk-takers and becoming experts at risk-avoidance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America.The study titled, “The Insurance Industry’s Incredible Disappearing Weather Catastrophe Risk,” asserts that…
