California’s Senate Bill 2401 is making its way through the legislature and will hopefully bring some important changes to the way insurance companies train their out of state adjusters who handle California based policyholder’s claims. The bill, also known as the Insurance Adjuster Act of 2019, was created by Senator Bill Dodd to eliminate confusion … Continue Reading
California policyholders historically have a very involved and consumer protecting Department of Insurance. Those wishing to file California consumer complaints about slow paying, wrongfully denying or simply bad insurance companies have a fairly easy method to do so.… Continue Reading
Dave Jones, California’s insurance commissioner, has declared an emergency situation following the Camp and Woolsey wild fires. This will allow insurance companies to use out-of-state adjusters, in an attempt to handle the large volume of claims resulting from the fires.… Continue Reading
Under California Insurance Code section 1861.05(b), most property and casualty insurers seeking a rate change must submit an application that includes various financial information and “such other information as the commissioner may require,” including what the Department of Insurance describes as “underwriting rules.” “Underwriting rules” are “any rule or factor used by an insurer in … Continue Reading
More states across the country are implementing legislation allowing for the legal use of cannabis. Currently 23 States and the District of Columbia allow for medical use with four of the states and D.C. also allowing recreational use. The conflicts between state and federal law have left businesses uninsured and often without access to bank … Continue Reading
Most homeowners and commercial insurance policies contains exclusions for loss or damages caused by mudflow or other similar occurrences. An example of on such exclusion is included below: b. Earth Movement and Settlement, meaning earthquake, which includes land shock wavers or tremors before, during or after a volcanic eruption; landslide; mudflow; sinkhole; earth sinking, rising … Continue Reading
Last month, the California Department of Insurance issued a notice to insurance companies, insurance agents, and public adjusters regarding the recent wildfires in the state. Although the notice is directed to insurance companies, agents, and adjusters, it provides useful information for policyholders affected by the wildfires. According to the Department of Insurance press release discussing … Continue Reading
My colleague Denise Sze recently blogged about the Butte and Valley wildfires. More than 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Indeed, many residents face a painful road to recovery. Last week, to increase the speed of the recovery process for wildfire victims, California Insurance Commissioner Jones obtained agreements from several insurance companies to adopt various … Continue Reading
On this blog, we often try to educate homeowners so they can be protected. In the past, we have urged homeowners to read their homeowner insurance policies and to ask questions if there are terms or provisions they do not understand. Well, here is another important tip: Obtain a copy of your policy from your … Continue Reading
This past week, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) settled an enforcement action against an insurer over claims handling practices from the November 2008 Sayre wildfire. The insurer charged with wrongdoing was New Hampshire Insurance Company (“New Hampshire”), a subsidiary of AIG. The Sayre fire burned in Sylmar, California, and was the eighth most damaging … Continue Reading
California is known to have consumer friendly laws when it comes to insurance. With all the codes and regulations, it’s good to know the California Department of Insurance (CDI) published "Fair Claims Settlement Practice Regulations" under Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations. Although Title 10 encompasses many facets, the regulations provide a concise … Continue Reading
Next Friday, the California Association of Public Adjusters will celebrate with founder Stan Kaufman, at their bi-monthly luncheon in Simi Valley. But it is Robin Kaufman, Stan’s daughter, who is making headlines. On July 7, the California Insurance Commisioner held a press conference. In the press conference, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones advised California insureds to … Continue Reading
When considering the selection of an insurance commissioner, why not vote for somebody that knows about insurance laws and regulations rather than a politician? The race for California’s Insurance Commissioner had a stunning result demonstrating that the Republican electorate might make such a selection. Brian FitzGerald, an insurance enforcement attorney in the California Department of … Continue Reading
