CA Ins. Comm'r Steve Poizner, Amy Bach and San Diego City Councilman Brian Maienschein.

An independent online survey conducted last spring by United Policyholders and two partner organizations received widespread media coverage. The front page of the Los Angeles Times Business section, newspapers and television stations throughout California and as far as Ohio reported on the fact that homeowners hit by the 2007 wildfires in San Diego have come up woefully short on insurance funds and are still awaiting settlement offers eight months after losing their homes. Two hundred and seventy four wildfire survivors participated in the survey. Survey questions elicited information on the status of insurance claims, the adequacy of policy benefits and related topics.

To read the full article click here.


Book Review: "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, The Dark Side of Insurance" by David Berardinelli, Trial Guides Press, 2008.

You don't have to be a disaster victim, a trial lawyer or a regular visitor to "Allstatesucks.com" to enjoy this book. It's a good read for anyone interested in what happens when a corporate giant takes the advice of high priced consultants and starts throwing hardballs at its own customers to increase profits. In a well written narrative, New Mexico attorney David Berardinelli tells how he gained exclusive access to documents that exposed unethical practices by the nation's leading insurance company.

To read the full article click here.


October 17, 2008 Live Webcast:
Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: Allstate on the hot seat

Hear attorney/author David Berardinelli and policyholder advocate Amy Bach discuss recent developments relating to Allstate, the McKinsey Documents and unfair claims handling practices during a live Webcast sponsored by Trial Guides. Lawyers can get CLE credit, the program is open to the public. 12-2pm EDT, 9-11am PDT.

UP members get a 50% discount on the program fee.

Click here to register.

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On July 9th Senator Ted Kennedy flew directly from Boston following his chemotherapy treatment for his malignant brain tumor to cast a decisive vote in favor of proceeding to final passage of a medicare bill. His vote silenced attempts to cut Medicare payments to doctors by over 10% a move which would have benefited the private alternative to Medicare, known as Medicare Advantage. Sick as he was, Senator Kennedy felt that standing up for senior citizens against what he saw as a profit grab by insurance companies was worth the effort. The public and Congressional debates over this bill, however, revealed that few people actually know the difference between Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan.

For many people turning 65, the question of the difference between a traditional medicare part B plan supplemented by a private "medigap" plan and the insurance company sponsored program known as Medicare Advantage poses a nearly insolvable problem.

The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the mysteries that surround this choice.

To read the full article click here.


U.S Supreme Court rules on conflicts of interest in health/disability benefit determinations

	U.S. Supreme Court photo credit: Alan Kotok

The following is an excerpt from an article by Mark DeBofsky, a disability insurance litigation expert, partner in the Chicago firm of Daley, DeBofsky Bryant and a valued member of United Policyholders' Amicus Project Advisory Board. The United States Supreme Court recently issued a decision in an important case in which United Policyholders and others, (including the National Association of Insurance Commissioners) weighed in as friends of the court (amicus curiae). The case relates to fairness in proceedings to review health and disability insurance claim disputes.

To read the full article click here.

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Every part of the U.S. is vulnerable to some kind of natural disasters: Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, hailstorms, floods... Here's a reminder: take steps to protect your home and mitigate the damage. Executive Director Amy Bach and Homeowner Advisor Ken Klein recently participated in a Mitigation Roundtable convened by CA Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Poizner brought together insurance and firefighting experts to explore how insurers can offer more incentives for property owners to reduce the risk of damage from fires and other natural disasters. Current discounts and programs are far from what they should be.

To read the full article click here.


Inadequate Home Coverage and UP featured on CBS Nightly News

	One of the many meetings where UP is helping educate underinsured homeowners

On July 14th 2008, CBS's Nightly News with Katie Couric ran a hardhitting piece that raised awareness nationwide that homeowners, particularly those insured with Allstate, may not have the full protection they think they have. The piece featured UP's Executive Director and two couples whose homes were destroyed in 2007 San Diego wildfires. Both couples found themselves more than $100,000 short on insurance funds to cover rebuilding expenses and have been using UP's programs and services to get help.

To read the full article click here.

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	Gene Anderson, Esq., the moving force behind UP's Amicus Project.

One of the many ways United Policyholders promotes policyholders' interests is by standing up for insureds in court. We do this by filing "friend of the court" briefs in cases all over the United States. Our goal is to support laws that protect those who pay for insurance protection. Laws are critically important because they force insurers to keep policyholders' interests in balance with their profit goals.

This article is a short synopsis of cases where United Policyholders has appeared as an amicus (friend of the court) thus far in 2008.

To read the full article click here.

(To read many of the briefs and summaries of issues United Policyholders has weighed in on over the years, please visit the Amicus Project section of our site.)

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	Volunteer Luke Barnsmoore developed UP's Car Insurance Tips for Teens.

Your baby is learning to drive. One of you is going to pay hefty premiums for insurance. With the help of a teenage volunteer, United Policyholders has published a new brochure that educates young drivers on keeping their rates as low as possible. Here are some of the main tips that parents and their teenage drivers should consider:

To read the full article click here.

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	Amy Bach, UP Executive Director

An insider's view of hot insurance topics in D.C. and in disaster struck regions in Texas, Lousiana, Florida, and California.

To read the full article click here.

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