Live Insurance News

Judge Throws Out Class Action Claiming State Farm Undervalued Home Repairs

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 G. Turner

Federal Court Dismisses State Farm Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Undervaluation of Property Damage Claims A recent decision by a federal court has brought closure, at least for now, to a contentious legal battle against insurance giant State Farm. The dismissal of a class action lawsuit alleging systemic undervaluation of property damage claims in Pennsylvania marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over insurance claim handling practices and the software tools that power them. At the heart of the dispute was Xactimate, the widely used software for estimating repair…

Flood insurance program overhaul began this month

April 4, 2022April 1, 2022 Marc

Despite opposition, Risk Rating 2.0 has gone into effect with revisions expected for 5 million policies. Opponents to the Risk Rating 2.0 did their best to stop the flood insurance program overhaul from becoming a reality, but those members of Congress were unable to do so, and it became effective as of the start of this month. The federal government program’s change will now impact millions of property owners. The Risk Rating 2.0 restructuring has revised the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), impacting the premiums of about 5 million policyholders.…

Could health insurance discrimination result from DNA data collection?

May 17, 2016May 14, 2016 Julie Campbell

health insurance discrimination dna genetic testing

In all but one G7 country, there are laws to protect people from losing rights based on their genetics. There is a rising belief among geneticists that the completion of genome sequencing would cause people to discover things about themselves that they don’t want to know, but many don’t realize that health insurance discrimination could also result from this type of test. These tests produce a detailed analysis of a person’s complete genetic code and they are not expensive to obtain. Naturally, DNA tests will not guarantee that a person…

UK insurance industry may be faced with higher claims due to legal reform

July 4, 2012July 4, 2012 H. Cutner

Law Commission proposes changes to 1906 law United Kingdom insurers may be faced with higher claims due to a legal reform coming from Britain’s Law Commission. The commission has announced that a 1906 law which deemed a company’s insurance coverage invalid if they did not voluntarily offer up information when taking out new policies has had unintended side effects in the insurance industry. According to the Law Commission, the law enabled insurance companies to avoid playing claims due to technicalities, a problem that may be changed with upcoming reform. Insurance…

Connecticut laws provide insurance regulators with more authority

June 7, 2012June 7, 2012 Nordstrom

Two laws win the favor of state’s Insurance Commissioner Two new laws have successfully passed the Connecticut Legislature, winning praise from the state’s Insurance Commissioner, Thomas Leonardi. Two legislations, which were signed into law by Governor Dannel Malloy this week, aim to bring more oversight to global insurance companies that operate in the U.S. and overseas. The laws are also meant to make Connecticut a more attractive venue for international reinsurance companies who wish to do business in the U.S. Commissioner Leonardi believes that the new laws signal major progress…

Legislation seeks to put an end to clawback insurance

June 1, 2012 S.Vagus

New bill could prevent insurers from providing protection against clawbacks Financial firms may no longer be able to purchase insurance policies that provide them with protections against civil penalties or compensation clawbacks if a new legislation introduced by Representative Barney Frank is successful. Clawbacks have become a somewhat popular form of censure for executives looking to reclaim compensation from one another. This practice can sometimes be damaging to an individual’s finances, a possibility that has spawned its own form of insurance coverage. Representative Barney Frank believes that clawbacks are an…

Missouri Department of Insurance releases report concerning 2011 natural disasters

April 20, 2012April 30, 2013

The Missouri Department of Insurance has released its annual report for the year of 2011. The report notes that the state experienced many “firsts” in the U.S. insurance industry last year, many of which were brought about by calamitous natural disasters. These firsts included record breaking numbers of claims, the highest claims payouts in U.S history, and the largest amounts of claims funds recovered by Missouri insurance regulators. The Department of Insurance notes that, despite massive challenges, it was able to complete its mission of protecting Missouri residents throughout 2011.…