Board member Ginsburg and CA. Ins. Comm'r Poizner

In February of this year, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner invited United Policyholders to join him in announcing a large settlement with Allianz Life Insurance Company for allegedly targeting thousands of seniors in deceptive annuity sales. UP Board Member Larry Ginsburg, who is a Certified Financial Planner and an annuity expert, accepted the invitation and participated in a press conference with the Commissioner.

Under the terms of the settlement, Allianz will pay upwards of 10 million dollars in fines. In addition to the fines, Commissioner Poizner announced that Allianz has agreed to put into practice a review process that will determine suitability for future insurance contracts for seniors.

To read the full article click here.

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	Buy a preparation kit from EarthShakes and support UP

A new study confirming that a major quake in CA. is a virtual certainty should spur more California home and business owners to take action. That can mean retrofitting, buying earthquake insurance, or starting a "rainy day" fund to pay for repairs. UP can help you make the individual, financial decisions you need to make.

Read UP's latest tips on EQ insurance

Read UP's Easy-to-follow Preparedness tips

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	Want to know more? Read this: From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: How Allstate Changed Casualty Insurance in America

In recent years there has been mounting evidence that business ethics in the insurance industry are on a downhill slide while unfair claim practices are on the rise. Allstate recently posted 150,000 pages of "McKinsey Documents" on its website that evidence a business strategy designed by the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Policyholder experts contend these documents are only one quarter of the entire "McKinsey Documents" and that they prove a strategy aimed at increasing profits by underpaying claims. Other major insurers have also retained McKinsey & Co.

A recent Miami Herald article by Bea Garcia on this subject quotes several sources affiliated with UP.

To read the full article click here.

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	Florida attorney William "Chip" Merlin is a generous supporter of the UP Amicus Project

We're proud to announce several recent policyholder victories in Texas, California and Arizona in cases where UP filed amicus briefs. Over the years UP has submitted over 250 amicus briefs in state and federal appellate courts throughout the country and in the United States Supreme Court. Our briefs are written by UP staff and pro bono by policyholder attorneys who work to protect and advance the legal rights of insureds.

To read about notable recent wins 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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1) Tax Education for Disaster Survivors

	UP/RB United's Tax Seminar for '07 Fire Survivors

UP continues to expand its programs and services to meet the needs of home and businesses owners who suffer large losses. More than 80 people attended our recent Income Tax Workshop for Fire Survivors in Rancho Bernardo. The event was organized by United Policyholders and co-sponsored by RB United on March 29th San Diego-based casualty loss tax expert Tracy Bolton, CPA was the featured speaker, To watch Ms. Bolton's presentation, go to the new "Disaster Relief - Tax Info" section of our website.

To read the full article click here.

	Roadmap to Recovery meeting, San Diego. UP's R2R meetings are drawing an average of 200-250 people.

2) Networking Brings Results

In Southern California, UP is helping total and partial loss survivors in the communities of Escondido, Ramona, Fallbrook, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs, (San Diego and San Bernardino counties). Our primary focus is in the Rancho Bernardo ("RB") community that was devastated by the 2007 "Witch" fire. (Every wildfire has a name).

Over the past six months, UP has established strong working relationships with Long Term Recovery Team members at RB United, Rebuild Escondido, and the Fallbrook Wildfire Recovery Center.

To read the full article click here.

3) Great Grant News

United Policyholders has recently been awarded several grants and large donations to cover our outreach and education programs in San Diego and San Bernardino counties. Special thanks are due to Karen Reimus, Ken Klein, Chris Edwards, and Valerie Nash who helped Executive Director Amy Bach secure these critically needed funds. The grantors include: The Fire Relief Biotech Recovery Fund of The San Diego Regional Disaster Fund, a supporting organization of The San Diego Foundation; the California Community Foundation; and the Price-Weingart Fund.

To read the details about our recent grants and donations click here.

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	UP's E.D. is a funded representative at the NAIC. www.naic.org

Industry lobbyists and members of the U.S. Senate and Congress are continuing to pursue legislative changes related to two subject areas that directly impact policyholders:

1) "OFC"

OFC is beltway talk for "Optional Federal Charter." If OFC becomes law, it would be a radical change in the way the insurance industry is regulated in this country. A new Federal agency would be created to "oversee" the insurance companies that opt in, which would in turn create a new full employment opportunity for industry lobbyists and an impossible situation for policyholder advocates.

2) Disaster Insurance

There are a number of proposals pending in Congress that relate to insuring homes and businesses against damage caused by natural disasters. Many of them will create more government and less private involvement in insuring U.S. homes and businesses.

To read the full details about the above, click here.

Also, to read Amy Bach's recent speech to the American Bar Association's Task Force on Disaster Insurance Coverage, this past February in Los Angeles, click here: click here (pdf file).

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At the six month mark after wildfires destroyed 2,170 structures in Southern California last October, it's a good time to look at how insurance safety nets are holding up for homeowners. Reasonably well for some, but for most, the nets have big holes. There is a high demand for United Policyholders' services.

I'm very proud to report that our programs are making a real difference in people's lives. As one USAA insured recently told me, "We wouldn't know what we would do without United Policyholders and all the help we've gotten."

Much of the credit goes to our own force of nature; UP Outreach Coordinator Karen Reimus and the hard-working group of 70 rebuilt/fire survivors from 2003 who signed on and participated in a United Policyholders volunteer/mentor training program shortly after the fires.

To read the full article Click here.

Last, but far from least, welcome and thanks to our newest UP sponsors!

We welcome our new sponsors that have signed on to our "Find Help" program since our last newsletter. The program is helping the 20,000 + monthly visitors to our website find professional help, and it helps UP thrive. Our sponsors are businesses and professionals who work with and for policyholders. For a complete listing of participants, visit our website.

We sincerely thank our current sponsors and those who've recently renewed. Click here to see our newest sponsors.

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