Unless a bank requires you to buy it, you probably aren't paying for flood insurance on your home. Maybe it's because you don't live near water. Maybe it's because your community mapping is outdated. Maybe it's because an insurance agent said you don't need it. Maybe you can't afford it. Whatever the reason, now would be a GREAT time to reconsider. So much rain fell on Texas during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 that the National Weather Service had to add...
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Reforming and/or re-authorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has moved front and center in our nation's Capitol in the past month, and was mentioned prominently in the budget proposal recently issued by the White House. The NFIP is basically a privatized government program created by Congress through which insurance companies and vendors get paid to sell flood insurance and process claims in coordination with a small staff of public...
Read MoreIf your property has been damaged due to a heavy rain and high winds, it can be tricky to collect insurance benefits to pay for repairs.
Home and renters policies exclude some but not all types of water damage. "Flood" damage (the policy should define what the insurer considers a "flood") and earth movement are excluded. Water damage from sewers and drains that back up may or may not be covered, depending on the wording in the specific home/renters policy. If wind or falling trees cause damage to pipes or contribute to water getting into a dwelling, there...
Read MoreBefore Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as "PPACA") and President Obama signed it into law, Americans with pre-existing medical conditions were struggling mightily to find and pay for essential health insurance. The ACA solved that problem for a large number of people but has encountered strong opposition and partisan politics that tried to defeat it at every turn. Six years of hard work have gone into implementing and defending the law. Now the incoming administration is poised to dismantle it. ...
Read MoreThe terms "Big Data", "Data Mining" and "Price Optimization" are all the buzz in insurance circles and among state insurance regulators. They, non-profit consumer advocates, the private bar and the Federal Insurance Office are all diving in to whether the massive amount of personal data that's now available to insurance companies is tipping the scales away from the bests interests of consumers and the healthy spread of risk.
Insurers used to pick from 90 rating classifications such as your driving record, address, age and vehicle. Now they can pick from thousands of them....
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