Insurelane Insurance Blog

With the Super Bowl coming up on Feb. 5, hosts of parties need to make sure they don’t allow their guests to drink too much and drive or they could be legally liable for them in some states. According to an article by marketwatch.com, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) said hosts need to know their local laws.

It’s unfortunate, but Super Bowl Sunday has traditionally been one of the worst days on the road in America due to impaired drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that 31 per cent of all traffic fatalities in 2010 were caused by impaired-driving. However, that figure rose to 48 per cent on Super Bowl Sunday.

The NHTSA said that males between the ages of 21 and 34 make up the Super Bowl’s core audience and are the most likely to try and drive while they’re intoxicated as well as driving without their seatbelts and over the speed limit. The I.I.I. said party hosts are morally and sometimes legally responsible for the actions of their guests if they serve them alcohol and it could cost them thousands of dollars.

The legal term is known as social host liability and the laws concerning it vary quite a bit from state to state. Some states don’t have a law concerning it and others may limit the liability to any injuries that take place on the property of the host. However, some laws say the host is liable for injuries that take place anywhere. In total, 37 of the states have some type of law in place that says hosts who serve liquor to guests are liable up to a specific amount.

The I.I.I. recommends that you fully understand the liability laws in your state and find out what your homeowners insurance does and doesn’t cover concerning this issue. Many homeowners’ insurance plans provide a limited amount of liquor liability coverage. If you’re hosting a party it’s recommended that designated drivers are available for guests.

According to some insurance customers in North Carolina, they’re being forced to buy auto policies with their current insurance companies or risk having their coverage being cancelled. Some companies such as N.C. Farm Bureau and Allstate are linking auto and homeowners policies across the state, which means they want you to purchase both types of insurance from them.

If you don't possess an auto policy with Allstate then the company won’t renew the customer’s homeowners policy. With the Farm Bureau, they won’t renew your homeowners plan if you don’t have an auto policy with them and if you’ve filed a homeowners claim in the last five years. Also, new Farm Bureau clients who are looking to buy homeowners insurance are required to purchase auto insurance from them.

While it doesn’t sound like a fair business practice to many, it’s still legal. Farm Bureau said it will consider renewing a customer’s homeowners policy if they decide to buy auto coverage after hearing of the company’s guidelines. However, according to Allstate, they don’t offer that option.

Allstate's new underwriting guidelines came into effect at the start of 2011 and according to an article by newsobserver.com, they will affect approximately 45,000 homeowner policyholders. Farm Bureau is set to introduce the guidelines on Jan. 1, 2012 and will affect 28,000 policyholders. Both insurers said their customers are be notified of the new system between 60 and 90 days ahead of their renewal date.

The State Insurance Department said it has received only 33 complaints so far about the policy-linking system even though many residents don’t think it’s a fair practice. Bob Mack, who is a deputy commissioner with the Insurance Department, said that underwriting guidelines aren’t regulated by state law. The guidelines explain the circumstances that an insurance carrier will sell a policy under.

Similar guidelines have been used in the past in North Carolina as well as in other states. However, they haven’t always been successful. Back in 2007 New York regulators told Allstate to stop linking its homeowners policies to life insurance or auto policies. New York regulators said the system violated anti-discrimination and anti-rebating sections of the state’s insurance law. Although Allstate followed the order, it said it still had the right to link its policies.

In North Carolina, the policy linkage is considered to be one-way. This means that both insurers will supply clients with auto insurance without the need for a homeowners policy, but won’t renew the homeowners plan without auto coverage.

A consumer consumer-watchdog organization in Australia said the nation’s insurance industry acted dishonorably this year after the continent suffered severe flooding. Choice hands out yearly Shonky Awards to services and products that are deemed to be highly questionable.

After flooding ravaged parts of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria in December 2010 thousands of Australians were left homeless. However, they figured there might be some light at the end of the tunnel since they had flood insurance. But after filing claims with an assortment of insurance companies, thousands of homeowners had their claims rejected.

Choice said that most insurance agencies had made their policies so complicated that many policyholders were unsure if they were covered and some of the policies didn’t even make it clear what exactly constitutes a flood.

Queensland Legal Aid said that about 30 different insurance firms have shot down claims from homeowners. According to the organization, about 15 per cent of all claims have been rejected, which represents about 8650 claims in total. Choice did have praise for one company though, when it said Suncorp Insurance has been making compassionate payments to many of its customers.

Queensland Legal Aid said insurers were selling policies with huge gaps in them and didn’t bother to tell their customers. A legal aid lawyer said thousands of people thought they had adequate coverage, but have sadly found out this isn’t the case. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, the lawyer said she’s been working on flood insurance cases for the past year and still can’t make heads or tails of some of the policies even after reading them several times.

Choice reported that thousands of policyholders lodged complaints with Queensland Legal Aid after their claims were rejected. The group said that many people were dissuaded from filing claims or had them summarily dismissed. In addition, it was reported that some claims were rejected even after insurance agents confirmed they’d be accepted.

Of course, the Insurance Council of Australia didn’t agree with the findings of the watchdog group and said that Choice's behavior is irresponsible. The chairman of the council said the news that Choice is spreading could cause some property owners to forgo buying the flood insurance they need. He also said that only 725 claims were investigated by Australia’s ombudsman.

Legislation was passed on Oct. 4th that will see the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) extended until Nov. 18th. The federal program was previously extended for just a week and was due to expire soon. Insurance groups around the country approved of the extension, but some of them feel that a temporary extension isn’t really enough.

The bill that was passed allows the government to fund specific programs including the NFIP at its discretion up until Nov. 18th. It was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and it just needs the signature of President Obama for it to come into effect. The senate passed the bill during the last week of September.

The Senate and House are reportedly focusing their attention on getting a legislation passed that would see the NFIP extended for a period of five years. They feel it’s needed because the program offers coverage to about 5.5 million property owners who live in regions that are prone to flooding.

The House passed its version of the flood insurance on July 12th and the Senate Committee on Banking also passed a version known as the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act. However, the full Senate has to vote on it before the Senate and House are able to come to terms on a final version of the bill.

Most experts feel that Congress has bought itself some more time concerning a longer extension with the passing of this legislation on Oct. 4th. It’s hoped that the Senate and House will now have enough time to get together and come up with a long-term extension for the NFIP.

According to a national coalition group at SmarterSafer.org, the temporary extension of the flood insurance program won’t provide the coverage needed by people if a national disaster should happen to strike. The organization feels any delays by Congress in extending the coverage could result in disaster to people affected by floods once it expires.

The NFIP has received quite a few short-term extensions over the past couple of years, but they have created confusion and uncertainty for many property owners and real estate agents. In addition, according to an article by Insurance and Financial Adviser, funding for the program expired twice during the past year which resulted in lapses in coverage. But in both instances, retroactive extensions were approved by Congress.

With the recent scare of a six-ton NASA satellite falling to earth and creating quite a bit of damage, it got people asking the question whether or not they’d be insured if their homes were damaged by falling space debris. Fortunately, there wasn’t any serious damage done when the satellite broke into pieces and entered the earth’s atmosphere, but asking if you’d be insured is a good question.

According to NASA, the odds of being hit by the falling satellite were 3,200 to one. But it’s still possible that your home could be hit by something falling from space, such as a small meteorite or even something from an airplane. There have been several instances in America in which people’s homes have been struck by a variety of objects, including a plane itself.

If you do happen to get struck by something hurtling to earth most homeowners’ insurance policies will cover the damage it causes. This is because most home insurance plans have a peril for falling objects. It doesn’t mean that all policies have coverage for falling objects, but most of them do. This is something you may want to look into or keep in mind the next time you renew your policy or are looking for a new one.

However, if your automobile happens to get struck by space garbage, it will depend on whether or not you have comprehensive insurance on it. If you do have comprehensive coverage the damage should be paid for. If you don’t have this type of coverage in the policy you’ll likely have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. A lot of Americans go without comprehensive insurance when their autos are older and on their last legs.

According to an article by foxbusiness.com, if you suffer any personal injuries due to falling debris you’ll be covered if you have a health insurance plan in place. If the injuries proved to be fatal, your life insurance policy will kick in as long as you have one and the premiums have all been paid.

While the odds of ever getting hit by a falling object may be astronomical, remember, that’s the reason we buy insurance in the first place, to protect ourselves just in case.

The United States National Flood Insurance Program will expire at the end of September and even though it’s in debt by about $18 billion, many insurance industry professionals feel the program should be extended by Congress. They point to the recent Hurricane Irene as a prime example why it shouldn’t be shelved for good.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offers flood insurance at affordable rates to Americans who live in specific at-risk regions of the nation. The Senate Banking Committee approved its own version of an insurance bill which would see the coverage extended for a few more years and earlier this year a bill was passed by the House which would see the program extended for five more years.

However, some lawmakers feel the NFIP actually subsidizes risky home construction and building and is in too much debt as it is. A coalition that concentrates on dealing with nationwide catastrophes called Smarter Safer recently sent a message to Harry Reid -Nev), who is the Senate Majority Leader.

Smarter Safer said it believes that the bill should be strengthened and there are several other stakeholder groups that feel the NFIP should be given a few more years. Another organization that is hoping the national flood insurance program is extended and supports the legislation is the American Land Title Association. They urged Congress this summer to make sure the coverage is still available to homeowners for the next few years.

Kurt Pfotenhauer, who is the CEO of the American Land Title Association, said houses are a homeowner’s biggest investment and they won’t be able to protect it if them if they aren’t offered insurance at an affordable price. This would leave taxpayers holding the bill for the cost of reconstruction.

He added that over five and a half million US families are depending on the NFIP since it’s their only source of affordable flood protection. According to an article by housingwire.com, with coverage in place, Pfotenhauer feels the program ensures that future development and real transactions will continue to help out the struggling economy.

Now that Hurricane Irene has come and gone it’s going to take quite a bit of time and a lot of money, likely several billion dollars to clean up. In addition, most people didn’t have insurance for damages unless they had specific flood coverage.

However, some homeowners and renters may catch a break if their homeowners insurance covers loss of food. People’s food can often be spoiled when the power goes out and some policies will cover the damage, usually up to about $500 per appliance.

Therefore, if your policy covers food damage and you have a refrigerator upstairs and a freezer elsewhere you could be covered up to $1,000. The exact amount of coverage will depend on the individual policy.

You may already know if your renter’s or homeowner’s policy includes food damage, but if not make sure you check and find out. If you are covered for the damage you should make sure you have a list of the food items that were spoiled while the electricity was out. If you don’t have the receipts you can always go to your regular grocery store and then price them out.

If you need to dine out because you can’t cook at home then you should keep the receipts from the meals. In addition, some insurance policies will cover temporary housing and emergency repairs costs on their policies in the additional living expense section of the coverage.

If you need to make a claim due to Hurricane Irene it may take some time because of the sheer number of claims that will be made. However, the claims are often treated on a first-come, first-served method, so make sure you make a claim as soon as possible.

According to an article on Richmond.com, it’s always a good idea to take photos of your possessions and home before storms hit and make sure you keep track of all discussions with the insurance company, such as the date and time of the contact.

With Hurricane Irene hogging all of the headlines it might be a good time to check out your flood insurance policy if you have one. You should know exactly how it works and what is and isn’t covered in it. This means you’ll have to get out a magnifying glass to read all of the fine print.

There are several important things you should be aware of concerning flood insurance. Your flood insurance plan has a waiting period of 30 days. So if you’re worried about something like Hurricane Irene it’s actually too late to protect yourself from it.

However, there is an exception for the 30-day waiting period. This occurs if the policy is considered to be part of a lender requirement for home refinancing or a new mortgage. In that case, the insurance kicks in when the loan is closed as long as it’s been paid for. When the flood insurance starts it lasts for a year.

Under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the maximum coverage to a building is $250,000 and the contents of a home are capped at $100,000. If your building and/or contents exceed these amounts then you’d basically be under insured and you would likely want to get some additional coverage.

It’s possible to find excess flood insurance from some private insurers, but you first have to have NFIP coverage in place. An average premium for NFIP insurance is $540 each year for about $100,000 worth of coverage for your building and excess coverage prices vary from company to company.

According to an article on MSN, if you’ve recently made any improvements to the basement of your home you’ll find they’re not covered. The insurance covers the basics, such as ceilings, furnaces, water heaters, and foundation walls etc, but it won’t cover any cosmetic improvements that have been made to basements.

In addition, flood insurance will cover damage to a building, but not to its surrounding areas, including your garden and landscaping. Also, most policies won’t cover you for temporary living expenses if you need to move out of your home.

The ever growing world of high-tech gadgets has definitely enhanced our lives in many ways, but it’s also brought about a few problems, with one of them being identity theft. According to a report by the American Federal Trade Commission, about nine million citizens fall victim of identity theft each year.

This includes the theft of credit cards, government documents, bank accounts, utilities accounts, loan fraud, and job-related information. The criminals usually steal things such as your name, driver’s license number, social security number, bank account and credit card information via computer hacking and email spam and then use your information for their financial gain. They can also steal your identity in simpler ways such as stealing your purse or wallet.

Of course, this is a crime and you should report it to the police immediately if it happens to you. This will hopefully minimize the damage done. You’ll also have to contact your bank, creditors, and utility companies, etc. to let them know what has happened.

There are some ways to help protect yourself against identity theft. These include leaving your Social Security card at home, burn or shredding important documents, reviewing your credit reports each year, keeping your PIN numbers and passwords secret, staying off of public wireless networks, and deleting emails from people you don’t know etc.

Still, it doesn’t matter how careful some people are they may still be victimized by identity theft. Another ideal way to protect yourself against it is to cover yourself with an insurance policy. If you look around you’ll find that some homeowner policies will have an option to cover you for identity theft. The coverage limits typically start at about $25,000 with no deductibles.

According to a recent article on daculapatch.com, This type of plan covers you for any financial damage caused by identity theft. The plans often cover lost wages when you deal with the matter, legal defense in case anybody sues you, and credit report challenges.

Some plans may even cover overhead such as phone calls, postage, notaries and other types of reasonable expenses that you face while trying to smooth over the effects of identity theft. These policies often start as low as about $30 a year and are an ideal way of protecting you and giving you some peace of mind.

The value of houses in America has dropped over the past five years or so, but the chances are good that you’re actually paying more to insure your home. However, according to housing and insurance industry experts, this is because the cost to rebuild a home hasn’t really changed over the same period of time.

What many people don’t realize is that the cost of homeowners’ insurance is actually based on the price of rebuilding or repairing a house whereas the value of your home is based on its market value along with the land it’s built on. This means while the value of houses has dropped the same can’t really be said for the price construction materials and workers’ labor.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the cost of homeowners’ premiums rose just over 60 per cent from the years 2000 to 2007 and then dropped about four per cent in 2008 to an average of $790. But the average price of premiums fell because many homeowners increased their deductibles and dropped some optional coverage features, not because the cost of insuring homes dropped.

Still, some people don’t think it’s fair that it costs more to insure a home even though its value may have dropped by as much as 30 per cent. These people often reduce their coverage or increase their deductibles when the house value drops, but it could be a big mistake if your home suffers damage because it could cost more to rebuild it than the home is actually worth. For example, it might cost $200,000 to rebuild or replace a home that’s valued at $150,000.

Costs on premiums have also risen in coastal areas and those that are subject to natural disasters, such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, and these states are among the costliest places to purchase homeowners insurance. A major factor in the cost is where you live as premiums are very regional when it comes to determining their prices.

According to MSNBC, If your homeowners insurance goes up it’s a good idea to ask why and to see if you can get a better rate by improving the home by installing a fire prevention or sprinkler system, etc. Doing something as simple as quitting smoking could also result in lower premiums and you could always shop around for lower rates.

According to Insurance News Net, one of the most-closely watched is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as many people don’t think it is getting the attention it needs and are afraid it may expire before too long. However, it appears the NFIP may be included with a larger budget bill, such as the homeland security appropriations bill, which may be extended to December.

But if the NFIP is included with a larger bill it has to rely on an unrelated issue to be attended to and Congress will need to do something to keep the program alive until Congress is ready to deal with it as a long-term issue. On Sept. 22nd, the Senate's Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee plans on holding a hearing to discuss the renewal of the flood program.

Lawmakers are anxious to start campaigning for the elections and it is unlikely any other insurance bills will be attended to until next year unless the country is hit by a major disaster or storm.

There aren’t any surprises expected for next years insurance agenda at Capitol Hill, if the Democrats retain the House, the insurance industry will probably be faced with a debate concerning an optional federal charter as the chairman of Financial Services said he would bring the topic up in 2011. However, the debate depends on the outcome of the elections as well as issues that are high on the list of the voters' priorities.

The phrase, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” is now more relevant than ever it seems as the little insects have invaded many of the nation’s cities. The problem is, other than being bitten and left with itchy marks, is that it can cost a lot of money to get rid of the little critters because they are not covered by standard homeowners or renters insurance policies.

Bed bug infestations can be quite costly as homeowners and renters may end up losing or damaging items like clothing, furniture, and rugs while trying to get rid of them. In fact, renters are considered to be more likely to be invaded by the bugs, but the least likely to be able to afford proper extermination of them and replacing any damaged items.

The Washington Post recently published an article urging readers to contact their state government to put some pressure on the State Bureau of Insurance to require insurance carriers to offer some type of supplemental bed bug coverage for homeowners and renters.

It seems that Consumer Reports has also jumped into the fray and confirmed that most insurers don’t cover the costs of getting rid of the bugs and the cleanup. It reported that insect and vermin infestations are considered to be maintenance issues and aren’t covered by policies even though it is a costly venture.

However, there is some hope that legislation could soon be coming which would require insurance companies to cover the cost of bed-bug infestations as the New York state assembly has a bill in front of it that calls for tax reimbursements that will cover any property damage caused by bed bugs and the extermination of them.

According to Cleveland.com, the most affluent victims of Hurricane Katrina, which struck in 2005, are getting the most help — while poorer residents haven't been as lucky.

It's been suggested that out everybody who suffered damage to their homes in Mississippi and Louisiana, middle-class people and white homeowners are more likely than low-income and black citizens to have rebuilt their homes and lives.

In fact, a federal judge said in August that grants to homeowners in Louisiana discriminated against black property owners. The judge said the formula used to calculate grants is discriminatory to blacks as they tend to live in areas that have lower property values.

Over in Mississippi, officials wouldn't give out grants to homeowners who suffered from wind damage stating the people should have had private homeowners insurance. That ruling was a big blow to black low-income homeowners as many of them had no coverage.

The rebuilding program in Louisiana provided some homeowners with grants of up to $150,000. However, citizens couldn't collect more money than the value their homes were before the storms, no matter how much it cost for repairs. The state has now modified the relief program and will pay out another $2 billion to over 45,000 low-income property owners.

In total, the program provided $8.6 billion to over 127,000 homeowners. Families needed to possess homeowners insurance to be eligible for the initial grants.The state then started providing uninsured, low-income homeowners with grants up to $100,000.

Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation back in 2005 and cost billions of dollars to clean up. However, it seems many residents on the Mississippi coast are still paying for the destruction five years later as their homeowners insurance premiums have jumped through the roof. It's been reported by New Orleans News that some homeowners on the Gulf Coast have seen their insurance costs skyrocket up to 200 and 300 percent.

Some relief may be in sight as Mike Chaney, the Mississippi Insurance Commissioner, said while prices are still pretty high, they are starting to level out. He stated it was inevitable insurance rates would rise due to the cost of rebuilding. Also, residents have been helped out by state-funded coverage named the Wind Pool.

Before the hurricane hit, coastal homeowners were paying $952 on average for a years worth of insurance on a $100,000 policy. But those who reside between the beach and Interstate 10 are now paying an average of $1,869 a year, which is close to an increase of 100 percent. In the Jackson, Mississippi area, $1,050 is the average for a year.

State insurance rates are still a sensitive topic with many residents as they feel they are paying some of the highest premiums around. But over at the State Capitol, the lawmakers state they have tried to help ease the burden for Mississippians should a catastrophe strike. A Policy Holder's Bill of Rights was passed by lawmakers, which states insurance companies have to inform customers about all policy exclusions — including wind and flood damage.

Rates have risen in Mississippi but not as much as in Florida, where tighter regulation was in place. There could be some light at the end of the tunnel though as 105 new insurance providers have started offering policies since Katrina, providing residents with more options.

It appears many Americans are buying homeowners insurance, but aren’t exactly sure what it covers and what it doesn't. Many consumers are buying higher priced premiums to make sure they have the appropriate insurance on their homes, but in some cases they might be paying for coverage that isn't really needed or not buying enough.

The best way to buy homeowners insurance is make sure you buy a policy that suits your specific needs and circumstances. If you just look around for the lowest premiums available there is a good chance you might not have enough coverage.

A survey reported by Insurance & Financial Advisor stated that 31 percent of United States citizens weren't sure how much their homes are insured for. In addition, 46 percent of people didn't know what the coverage was for the contents of their homes, which includes their clothing, furniture, and other items.

It was also reported that 30 percent of the homeowners surveyed think the coverage represent the present market value of the home. But in reality, the homeowners coverage limit is actually based on how much it will cost to rebuild it. This is what often confuses many people when they buy homeowners insurance and why some people don't buy enough coverage.

While many people are working hard to save more money and cut down on their expenses, they are leaving themselves open for costly bills by not having adequate insurance. When buying homeowners insurance the trick is to know exactly what is and isn't covered and to talk to an insurance agent for clarification.