The Arkansas state motto is “Regnat Populus” which means “The People Rule.” With the state motto in mind, Arkansas policyholders can seek assistance with their insurance claims through the Arkansas Department of Insurance at www.insurance.arkansas.gov. When a policyholder has been mistreated by having their claim delayed, denied or handled in bad faith, Arkansas provides an … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Consumer Service Department responds to inquiries and assists consumers in resolving insurance complaints against insurers, producers and other licensees. Consumer Services also advises consumers of their options and rights under their policies, state laws and regulations. They maintain a database which has an inventory of all written complaints and inquiries received from the … Continue Reading
If an insured in Ohio (“Ohioan”) is being mistreated by a delaying, denying, and bad treating insurance company, the Ohioan always has the option of voicing his or her displeasure to the Ohio Department of Insurance (“ODI”) via Complaint. The submission of a Complaint to ODI prompts an investigation by ODI into the insurance carrier’s … Continue Reading
A public adjuster alerted me to a Hurricane Michael policyholder being “shaken down” by a third party who allegedly purchased an AOB from an unlicensed contractor. What makes it worse is that the policyholder is being confronted by the third party and a person holding himself out to be an attorney.… Continue Reading
Hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes are the most common natural disasters to impact the State of Hawaii. The 2018 Hawaii hurricane season was one of the most destructive in recent memory, with six hurricanes hitting the islands. 2018 also brought the lower Puna volcano eruption.… Continue Reading
The Washinton Post published a story, Survivors of Hurricane Michael In The Florida Panhandle Fear They Have Been Forgotten. The story is excellent, and it is obvious that the reporter, Joel Achenbach, was at the scene early after the catastrophe because he noted the “towering” debris stored along the roadways. It is always amazing to … Continue Reading
“The Department of Insurance was created to protect the insurance consumers, public interest, and insurance marketplace by ensuring the solvency of insurers, enforcing and implementing the insurance laws of the state, and regulating the insurance industry in an efficient, courteous, responsive, fair, and equitable manner.” —The South Carolina Department of Insurance Mission Statement… Continue Reading
If you have suffered a property loss and believe that you have been wronged by a delaying, denying, and bad treating insurance company, you have the right to file a complaint with your state insurance commissioner.… Continue Reading
Insurance regulation is important. Unlike other commercial products, insurance is a product that serves the public trust. Without regulation, history has proven that insurers cannot control themselves. They go broke just when we need them the most and their claims practices, if unchecked, can be atrocious. States with a strong admitted marketplace should be encouraged. … Continue Reading
Amy Bach is on the side of angels when it comes to fighting for policyholder rights. She is the Executive Director of United Policyholders which is the nation’s largest not for profit advocacy. She and her staff have spent considerable time in Florida educating the public and Florida lawmakers about insurance and sound public policy … Continue Reading
The Insurance Journal published an article last week, Sometimes I Disagree with the Blogs I Love. The article had a lengthy discussion of this blog. I really like how it started: Property Insurance Coverage Law – Chip Merlin and team do a great job helping me to understand what’s going on in property insurance law … Continue Reading
In an important New Jersey policyholder decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently addressed New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) and ruled the CFA applies to an insurer’s deceptive claims handling practices as well as the sale of insurance policies.1… Continue Reading
Florida legislators have introduced legislation allowing insurance companies to delay, deny, and underpay Floridians’ insurance claims without accountability. National Flood insurance has no such good faith standards nor accountability and the above news story shows how Floridians can be expected to be treated if the Florida legislature passes anti-consumer laws eliminating protections that have been … Continue Reading
California residents were not spared from disaster in 2018. Instead, devastating wildfires continued, which included the biggest and most devastating wildfires to ever ravage California. The continued disasters were more frequent and begun much earlier during California’s prolonged dry period. The number and size of the wildfires along with insurance carriers’ claim handling have brought … Continue Reading
Insurance company lawyers and lobbyists are a crafty crew. Kelly Kubiak got word from me after I learned late Tuesday afternoon that Florida legislators needed to hear from her early Wednesday morning regarding a proposed law that would let delaying, denying and wrongful acting insurance companies obtain a “get out of free jail card” so … Continue Reading
The Colorado Department of Insurance has proposed eliminating one of its long-standing bulletins requiring insurance companies to pay contractor overhead and profit rather than deduct the amount until incurred. Such an elimination is obviously against policyholder interests and is the result of insurance industry lobbyists making inroads with Colorado insurance regulators who are supposed to … Continue Reading
California policyholders historically have a very involved and consumer protecting Department of Insurance. Those wishing to file California consumer complaints about slow paying, wrongfully denying or simply bad insurance companies have a fairly easy method to do so.… Continue Reading
Balancing the cost of insurance premiums and the potential costs related to being displaced from your home, repair costs required by local building code, or higher replacement costs can be challenging for a homeowner. For Colorado homeowners, it is important to understand that they have rights to additional and/or enhanced insurance coverage options if they … Continue Reading
A raíz de la catástrofe causada por los huracanes Irma y María, surgió la necesidad de revisar el proceso de reclamaciones ante las aseguradoras en aras de hacer este uno más eficiente. Es por esto que, el gobierno ha trabajado en métodos que ayudarán a mejorar los procedimientos de manejo de reclamaciones ante las aseguradoras. … Continue Reading
After the catastrophe caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, there was a need for an efficient recovery process. The government has worked on methods to improve the way insurance claims are handled. Following models from multiple jurisdictions in the United States, Puerto Rico will now have available more protections and resolution methods for property and … Continue Reading
Does the Florida DFS and Jimmy Patronis know what is going on with insurance or is he corrupt? It has to be one way or another with the story about his campaign taking contributions from insurance companies that were scamming Floridians.… Continue Reading
Managed repair is the rage of many insurance companies. To reduce claims costs and better compete on low price, some insurance company adjusters use various techniques to steer or pressure policyholders into using contractors the insurance company wants the policyholder to hire. Independent restoration contractors and public adjusters have legions of stories about how adjusters … Continue Reading
United Policyholders is the largest and oldest charitable organization serving the interests of policyholders. The photo above shows us with Amy Bach at Monday night’s Tee UP 2018 fundraising event for United Policyholders in San Francisco.… Continue Reading
The interests and needs of policyholders is why public adjusters get to make a living adjusting claims. The financial interests of the public adjuster are not paramount to the policyholder. The public interest is paramount over the public adjuster trade. So long as public adjusters properly serve policyholders, serve the public interest, and strive to … Continue Reading
