July 2, 2015 What to Do if Your Car Insurance is Canceled You reach into your mailbox and retrieve a letter from your auto insurance company. It says you and your car are being kicked to the curb. That’s right — you’re being hit with a car insurance cancellation. “What am I going to do?” you ask…
June 29, 2015 Keep the Faith New York! Much to our disappointment and not for lack of trying by a statewide alliance of dedicated advocates, the state legislature again recessed for the year without giving New York insurance consumers an important right that exists in most other states: The assurance that if a…
June 24, 2015 Ruff and Ready? Pet Insurance Check UP As treatment options for sick and injured animals improve, and new (expensive) medications and procedures can extend your pet’s healthy life, you may want to give pet insurance a second look. You can buy coverage for urgent care only, or broad…
June 23, 2015 The “running and gunning” flood claim adjuster life Why would flood insurance adjusters underpay claims when they get paid a percentage of settlement amounts? Doesn’t that give them an economic incentive to pay higher settlements to increase the fee they earn? These questions come up after every flood disaster. These questions have been…
June 23, 2015 Appeals process for flood insurance claims needs work: Senate probe The U.S. government’s appeals process for reviewing flood insurance claim disputes is riddled with flaws, but there is no evidence of systematic underpayments by insurers to flood victims, an investigation by U.S. Senate staffers has found.”Despite widespread concerns, it does not appear that systematic incentives…
June 21, 2015 Flaws but no abuse, Senate finds in Superstorm Sandy flood insurance study, Reuters reports The Senate Banking Committee will release a report that calls the appeals process for federal flood insurance claims after Super Storm Sandy badly flawed, but also that it found no signs of systematic underpayments to victims, Reuters reports.”Despite widespread concerns, it does not appear that…
June 17, 2015 Capitol Pressroom Amy Bach, the executive director of United Policyholders, looks at a report that shows property insurers have reaped higher-than-average profits in New York State despite losses from major weather events like Superstorm Sandy. Bach argues New York insurance law is crafted in a way that…
June 15, 2015 FEMA re-opens claims, but some Sandy victims say ‘no thanks A few weeks ago, FEMA sent out 146,000 letters to homeowners who were possible victims of Sandy-related flood insurance fraud, offering to reevaluate their damage awards and make them whole. That’s a lot of people with a lot of money at stake.FEMA is also offering…
June 14, 2015 Insurers reaped outsized profits from NY homeowners’ policies, group says Despite catastrophic losses from superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene, property insurance companies have reaped profits in New York at rates more than double the national average in recent years, according to a study scheduled to be released Monday. Between 2004 and 2013, insurers posted an…
June 13, 2015 5 home insurance myths you may have fallen for It may not be required by law, like auto or health insurance, but you’ll need home insurance to protect your family and household from a financial disaster in case another kind of disaster strikes. Your lender may insist that you have a policy. As with…
June 10, 2015 We love New York We love New York. That’s why we and our Superstorm Sandy survivor base are pulling out the stops to support legislative reforms this legislative session and are saying: Come on New York! Step up into the 21st century and give your citizens who spend their…
June 10, 2015 Thursday marks anniversary and deadline for Black Forest Fire victims Thursday marks two years since the state’s most destructive wildfire, but it also marks a deadline for insurance policies related to the Black Forest Fire. According to United Policyholders, key deadlines include the expiration of additional living expenses/loss of use benefits, a firm deadline for…
June 10, 2015 Flood program must focus more on needs of disaster victims, new chief says The newly appointed director of the National Flood Insurance Program said the organization needs to focus more on the welfare of disaster victims and rethink gaps in coverage that bedeviled homeowners after superstorm Sandy. Roy Wright, who takes over the federal program next week, said…
June 9, 2015 The auto gap insurance dilemma at the dealership: Take the coverage or leave it? While you’re signing a stack of paperwork in the dealer’s office and eyeing the set of keys to your brand-new ride, your salesman asks if you’d like to add another $500 to your final tab for something you’ve never heard of called “auto gap insurance.”…
June 8, 2015 Waldo Canyon, Black Forest fire victims see dissimilar outcomes It was the worst of fires – and then came another one even worse. It was a fire in a subdivision and then it was one in a wooded, rural community. It was a fire of quick rebuilding and then it was one where the…
June 7, 2015 Insurance deadline looms for victims of 2013 Black Forest fire The second anniversary of the Black Forest fire on Thursday brings a deadline for many fire victims: it will be their last chance to sue their insurance companies and their last chance to seek to collect the full amount of money they are owed to…
June 4, 2015 After Texas Floods, A New Test for FEMA’s Beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program Less than 48 hours after torrential rains flooded parts of Houston in late May, AJ Culembourg found herself ripping up floor boards inside the rental property she and her husband remodeled 18 months ago. Flood waters had reached as high as 18 inches inside the…
June 1, 2015 4 most common reasons why insurers deny life insurance claims When you buy a life insurance policy, there’s a chance your beneficiary’s claim may be denied – and it’s important for you to know how this can happen. Insurers examine the terms of policies carefully before paying claims, to make sure policyholders have fulfilled their…
