Live Insurance News

Homeowners insurance in California to see lower rates for some customers

September 6, 2012April 30, 2013

AAA has announced that some of its policyholders will see decreases of 9.3 percent. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has announced that many homeowners insurance customers will be experiencing a notable lowering of their rates. This applies to many of the policyholders of AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah Insurance Exchange. The reduction will be an average of 9.3 percent. It is likely to be greatly appreciated by homeowners insurance customers, particularly at a time when increases are being experienced throughout the country. The decrease is breaking with a number…

MetLife agrees to settle life insurance claims in several states

April 25, 2012April 30, 2013

The life insurance giant has agreed to a multistate settlement following regulator allegations among many states. MetLife Inc., the massive company that provides life insurance to millions of individuals across dozens of states, has announced that it will make approximately $438 million in payments toward a multistate settlement following allegations from regulators that said that it had withheld or delayed payments to thousands of policyholders. The payments will be made to beneficiaries over the next 17 years, with payments worth $188 this year. Regulators in many different states have all…

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones requests reduced rates from “forced-placed” mortgage insurance companies

March 30, 2012April 30, 2013

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has spoken with the 10 biggest insurers providing “lender-placed coverage” California insurance, in order to address a number of concerns that have been brought to his attention regarding excessive rates. Within that communication, Commissioner Jones directed that a California Department of Insurance (CDI) rate filing be made in order to lower their rates. The insurance commissioner too this step at a time when reports have been made quite heavily regarding sketchy financial integration between insurance companies that offer “forced-placed” mortgage insurance, and the mortgage lenders themselves.…

California insurance regulators target GeoVera Insurance, imposing fines and requiring the company to make changes to underwriting

March 1, 2012April 30, 2013

California insurance regulators have taken action against GeoVera Insurance Co., providers of residential earthquake insurance, this week. Regulators took notice of the company after having received a multitude of complaints from policyholders. According to these complaints, the insurer’s underwriting procedures are not as adequate as they are supposed to be. Regulators have investigated the matter and found that the insurer’s practices were indeed falling short of the state’s standards. GeoVera will be facing major changes as regulators look to make the company more compliant with state laws. The insurer will…

California homeowners to benefit from new insurance regulations

February 4, 2012February 4, 2012 Marc

New rules for homeowners insurance have been implemented in California to help to protect people when disaster strikes their homes. The regulations have been implemented to help consumers to make sure that they have the coverage that they need when they have been paying into an insurance policy and the time comes that they need to make a claim following a disaster. According to Amy Bach, the head of United Policyholders, following a large loss, people frequently discover that they don’t have as much coverage as “they thought they had…

Insurance companies in three states required to provide their response plans for climate change

February 4, 2012May 5, 2013

The insurance commissioners for New York, California, and Washington state have announced that they will now be requiring insurers to disclose a climate change response plan that will outline the way in which they plan to respond to the changing risks that customers and businesses face as wildfires, severe storms, and rising sea levels become more common. Until now, those three states have asked only about a third of the larger insurance companies to provide information in the form of responses to a survey, but for all other insurers, it…

California trade groups and insurance regulators settle two Iran divestiture

January 30, 2012January 30, 2012 Julie Campbell

California insurance regulators and trade groups have come to a settlement over two suits regarding efforts that were being made to put pressure on insurance companies to stop their investments into organizations that took part in nuclear, defense, or energy-related work in Iran. The announcement was first made at the end of Friday by Dave Jones, the Insurance Commissioner in California. The lawsuits had to do with a controversial initiative started in 2009 by Steve Poizner, the previous California Insurance Commissioner, which threatened insurers with penalties and publication when they…