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The 4 Most Expensive Winter Homeowner’s Insurance Claims

As extreme weather events occur more often, winter storms will cause a financial hit on homeowner’s wallets. Each year, more homeowners have to file property insurance claims from winter damage and contact public adjusters for help. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the percentage of winter-related homeowner’s insurance claims in 2014 were more than double…

Advocate Claims Public Adjusters In The News Discussing The Vanishing Act

There’s a disturbing nationwide trend of insurance companies chipping away at coverage for homeowners, says Amy Bach, executive director of the nonprofit United Policyholders consumer group. She says she’s disturbed by what she sees as policies becoming less adequate. “We have been working on a number of fronts to try to reverse this tide, while…

Pet Oxygen Masks Can Save Animals’ Lives in Fires

Firefighters in Ocala, Fla., found Hanna, a 2-year-old Siamese cat, lying in a smoky bedroom, unconscious and not breathing. Believing her dead, they carried the cat outside. Then Hanna moved her head.   Firefighter Eric Morton recalls rubbing her belly and giving her oxygen through a mask designed for people. Without a proper fit to…

Study: Repeat Offenders: How the Insurance Industry Manufactures Crises and Harms America

The first definitive expose of 35 years of manufactured insurance crises.  So far there have been three.  We document how this industry is now creating a fourth. Imagine an industry that sold a product which every person and business in America needed.  This product was so important that the industry could literally threaten the economy…

GE Coffee Maker Recalled Due to Fire Hazard

Nearly 1 million General Electric coffee makers sold at Walmart are being recalled after dozens of reports of overheating, smoking, burning and fires. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall Thursday, said Walmart has received 83 complaints about the GE-branded coffee maker, including three reports of minor burns to consumers’ bodies. The reports…

Insurers and policyholder reps wrangle over claims delays

Representatives of Florida’s insurance industry and public adjusters — who represent policyholders in claims disputes — fiercely debated how to speed up repairs after hurricanes on Wednesday.

As of this fall, more than 2,000 homeowners were still trying to get claims paid from Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Delays keep people out of their homes longer and can make the damage worse. The gathering — focused on how to improve the so-called appraisal process — is the third on claims delays organized by Insurance Consumer Advocate Sean Shaw, who plans to make recommendations to state lawmakers before the annual legislative session in March.

Homeowners Insurance: Consumer Reports investigates

Will your insurance company be there for you in the aftermath of a disaster, when you most need it? The answer might be no. When Consumer Reports National Research Center surveyed readers about their homeowners insurance claims in the last few years, half of those who had filed claims related to Hurricane Katrina reported problems.…

Experts: Make insurance-related preparations

Although the 2009 hurricane season got off to a slow start, it heated up significantly over the last few weeks with four named storms. Many home and business owners are now stocking up on supplies, but the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA) encourages Floridians to also make insurance-related preparations in the event a…

Chinese Drywall: Builders, Subs Face Huge Uninsured Losses

General liability carriers specializing in contractor insurance for builders and drywall subcontractors (subs) are “sweating it out” over the potentially massive claims dollars that could be paid out in litigation, settlement, and adverse jury verdicts arising from Chinese drywall. However, due to the impact of little known policy exclusions and evolving case law in many…

Firm Lists Top 10 Insurer Failures Seen By Examiners

Failure to acknowledge, pay or deny claims within specified timeframes tops the list of insurer violations that examining regulators find, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services said. The Waltham, Mass.-based firm said that sort of infraction led its annual list of the top 10 reasons insurance companies are found to be out of compliance during market conduct…