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All too often, policyholders contact us when their residential or commercial carriers send a notice that they will no longer provide insurance coverage. It is critically important that all insureds understand the major difference between an insurance company canceling a current policy and a notice of non-renewal. Every policyholder should carefully study any written notifications about changes or potential changes in insurance coverage so they understand the insurance company’s actions.…

Continue Reading Carolina Coverage: Help! My Insurance Company Wants to Drop Me

It’s already happening – business interruption claims are getting denied a mere three weeks after Super Storm Sandy ravaged the Northeast. Running a business is not an easy feat. Business owners paid premiums to protect their hard earned profits and getting a denial letter from an insurance company they’ve probably had for years may be harder to overcome than the hurricane itself. The culprit of all this despair – “your property did not sustain any direct physical loss or damage as a result of a covered peril.”…

Continue Reading Businesses Interruption Coverage and Super Storm Sandy – A Misunderstood Relationship

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that 2011 was a record year for natural disasters in the U.S. According to the Insurance Information Institute (the “I.I.I.”), insurance companies will pay more than $32 billion in claims to help people rebuild homes and businesses damaged or destroyed by natural disasters in 2011, a record year for federal disaster declarations. Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the I.I.I., said that “[t]he $32.6 billion figure doesn’t even include the significant insured losses which arose after the pre-Halloween snowstorm, which caused enormous damage to multiple states along the Atlantic seaboard. Coupled with other events in 2011’s fourth quarter, direct insured losses could exceed $35 billion this year.”…

Continue Reading Worst Natural Disasters of 2011 and Their Impact on the Insurance Industry

Dr. Robert Hartwig and the Insurance Information Institute (III) do an excellent job providing timely information regarding insurance topics. A recent story on insurance coverage for nuclear accidents is an example. As a result of the current catastrophe in Japan, I have been asked by a number of individuals about property insurance coverage in the event of radiation damage. The III answers the question in "Insurance Coverage for Nuclear Accidents."…

Continue Reading Is There Insurance Coverage for Nuclear Accidents?

One of my TWIA slab case clients was very happy about the proposed resolution of her claim. Her tone changed when she mentioned that TWIA raising rates five percent. I have often felt that our elected leaders are in a no-win situation when the people electing them to office hold a noose over their neck when it comes to government sponsored insurance. Voters want lower rates, even if that means the government charges absurdly low rates and unfairly competes with private enterprise.…

Continue Reading Rates are the “Elephant in the Room” with Government Sponsored Property Insurance Programs

The economic slowdown has many concerned about job security. This is also happening in the insurance claims business. Bob Hartwig, President of the Insurance Information Institute, gave a speech at the Property Insurance Loss Research Bureau Annual Claims Conference explaining that there has been a sharp decline in the amount of claims positions, as indicated in a published story by Claims Magazine, Claim Adjusters Hit Hardest by P&C Employment Drop:…

Continue Reading Claims Jobs are Disappearing and One Suggestion for Insurance Career Safety