Homeowners insurance provides financial security. Fires, accidents, and storms may occur, but insurance provides funds to rebuild. Just as important, insurance provides emotional security; policyholders expect their insurance companies to be trusted partners in the process of coping with losses. But policyholders’ belief that insurance will provide security is not always met. Consumers are limited… continue reading
States regulate many aspects of homeowners insurance, and the Essential Protections for Policyholders project focuses on those that are—essential. We had two selection criteria for deciding what to include: First, the issue had to be important. United Policyholders has decades of experience aiding and advising homeowners about their insurance which provided a unique resource to… continue reading
Essential Protections for Policyholders is a project of the Rutgers Center for Risk and Responsibility at Rutgers Law School in cooperation with United Policyholders. From Rutgers, I am the author of the report. I teach Insurance Law and other subjects at Rutgers Law School and I am DIstinguished Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center…. continue reading
In each of the Essential Protections for Policyholders, the report identifies and discusses an issue, recommends action that legislatures or sometimes insurance commissioners should take, usually offers recommended statutory language, and provides context in a summary of current law. Like other scholarship in the law and public policy realm, it requires a certain amount of… continue reading
Insurance is mostly sold on the basis of ignorance, not information. That needs to change. Recently I bought a small television for my bedroom. At $229 for a modest luxury it was not a life-changing event, and though I’m not entirely happy with the purchase (the sound is a little tinny) the consequences are minor…. continue reading
The Essential Protections for Policyholders provide a roadmap for states to follow in regulating homeowners insurance and a scorecard to evaluate states’ current systems of regulation. Although the Essential Protections are directed at regulators, many of the individual items also can be used to measure how well an insurance company measures up to standards that… continue reading
