Captive Insurers Coming Under Scrutiny

The New York Department of Financial Services’ Superintendent, Benjamin M. Lawsky, is strongly opposed to “captive insurers,” also referred to as “shadow insurers". Lawsky recently made his feelings known in a letter that he sent to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

 The group has been working to make such insurers’ policies and practices more transparent through reforms and guidelines, but Lawsky does not approve of their suggested “fixes,” claiming they will only make

problems worse. He wants stronger action taken against such insurance companies.

While no one can know what will happen, it is important to understand that any concerns or problems related to the insurance world can make people suspicious of their own providers, in particular of the commercial insurance claims process. If you get any complaints about your commercial insurance claims or need help answering those claims, know that you can find a New York commercial insurance claims expert to assist you in dealing with clients. All you have to do is contact HC Adjusters.

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Pennsylvania River Towns Facing High Flood Insurance Costs

It’s no secret that Pennsylvania is home to many river towns, such as Wilkes-Barre. Obviously, these homes face an increased risk for flooding, causing their owners’ flood insurance to often be quite high. In fact, some homeowners in Pennsylvania river towns report paying more than $7000 per year for their flood insurance.

While one would think that residents of these towns would be jumping for joy at President Obama’s recent announcement of lowered insurance premiums for those who receive subsidies from the National Flood Insurance Program, they’re not getting too excited just yet. That’s because there is speculation that insurance premium rates will still rise for those in Pennsylvania flood zones—more than 34,000 people. The measure, they are saying, is just delaying what is to come.  

SVG of Pennsylvania state seal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Still, the lowered rates may cause some to temporarily take out flood insurance, in which case your business may not have enough professional insurance adjuster workers available. If you are in need of more professional insurance adjuster services, know that HC Adjusters is always happy to provide you with a Pennsylvania professional insurance adjuster.

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• Pennsylvania River Towns Facing Rising Flood Insurance Rates (insurancejournal.com)
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Insurance Agent Sentenced

Christopher Vernon Murphy was once a successful and, by all accounts, very trustworthy insurance provider in the state of Texas. The world “integrity” was even a part of his company’s name. Unfortunately, neither he nor his company lived up to the name. Murphy was recently found guilty of stealing from over forty of his clients.

Murphy is forced to pay back $75,000, which he allegedly took by accepting Windstorm insurance payments and pocketing the cash.

Hopefully, your insurance company will never encounter bad press such as this, and the best way to ensure that it doesn’t is to hire only the most trustworthy people, people who have been thoroughly background checked. While you probably already take these precautions when hiring full-time employees, you should also do so when hiring temporary help, such as when you have more property insurance claims than you can handle.

Fortunately, when you choose to let HC Adjusters help you with your property insurance claims, all the background checking is already done for you. HC Adjusters supplies only the most reputable New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania property insurance claims agents to work for you.

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Relief for Flood Zone Residents

For people living in designated “flood zones,” flood insurance is an absolute necessity. Unfortunately, however, in recent years, flood insurance costs have gotten so high that many people can’t afford the insurance they desperately need. These people, however, recently received some good news: President Obama chose to pull back 2012 reforms affecting the National Flood Insurance Program.

The original goal of those reforms was to make costs and revenues line up and to match flood insurance rates with actual risk. This led to skyrocketing costs for many flood zone residents and to a Federal Flood Insurance Program that’s an astounding $24 billion in debt.

Fortunately, President Obama’s recent decision should take insurance rates back to their pre-2012 costs, meaning substantially lower rates for many.

With rates lowering, you can expect many more people to acquire flood insurance from your organization, which means you may need to hire an extra independent insurance adjuster or two. If you can’t afford to hire a new independent insurance adjuster team full time but would just like some additional help dealing with the expected increased demand, know that HC Adjusters can help. It can send you a New Jersey independent insuranceadjuster (or two or three!) to help you on an as-needed basis.

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Mudslide Disaster Leaves 8 Dead

The New York Daily News has been doing a good job of keeping readers abreast of the horrific mudslide tragedy that affected an Arlington neighborhood in Washington. The paper reports that the mudslide, which occurred on March 22, has officially rendered eight dead so far. Unfortunately, there are still more people who have not yet been located, and finding them is proving difficult for rescuers, who say the mud that covers them has a quicksand effect.  

Even those people who were lucky enough to escape the mudslide with their lives intact, didn’t get away completely free from harm. At least thirty neighborhood homes were destroyed as a result of the massive mudslide, and many families are left with nowhere to go, their homes surrounded by fifteen feet of mud.

Sad events like these are important reminders of why one should have catastrophe claims insurance. And, if you’re a catastrophe claims adjuster or you employ them, it should remind you of how disaster can strike at any time, and you must always be willing to step up and assist your clients. If you ever find yourself in the midst of a serious situation in which you can’t handle the workload on your own, don’t worry. You can always get help from a professional New York cat claims adjuster through HC Adjusters.

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Hurricane Sandy Victims Still Outraged

USA Today recently ran a story that was focused, at least in part, on Carla Vitale and Vincent Vitale, two Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey residents who spent close to $100,000 on their insurance premiums. While you might think that the Vitales did everything right in terms of their insurance, it seems their property claims adjuster thinks otherwise.

Hurricane Sandy Damage Covered By Snow (Photo credit: KimCarpenter NJ)

The couple, who suffered a damaged heating system, a damaged electrical system, and an estimated $300,000 in overall damage as a result of Hurricane Sandy, is not happy with what the insurance companies are offering. Their flood insurance has reportedly not given them anything, and they’ve only received a little over $4000 from their home insurance. Sadly, they aren’t the only ones who are experiencing these problems. Many other New Jersey residents who were victims of Hurricane Sandy claim they haven’t gotten what they’re owed in terms of insurance.

Some people blame untrained and overworked property claims adjuster professionals. Others blame unscrupulous insurance companies. Whatever the case may be, this sad story serves as a great reminder to insurance companies of how they should treat people—fairly and honestly.

Doing that when you’re overworked and overwhelmed is hard though. If you ever require quality assistance getting back on track or handling your workload, contact the friendly New Jersey claims adjuster professionals at HC Adjusters. They’ll help you to get your work done right and to preserve the integrity of your business.

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• Washington Is Encouraging The Next Hurricane Sandy, By Creating New Subsidies For Flood Insurance (forbes.com)

When You Don't Have Insurance

One of your main functions, as an insurance provider, is to explain to people the importance of having insurance. Once they have that insurance, then your job is to handle their claims and pair them with an insurance adjuster as needed. Of course, your relationship will never get that far if you can’t convince people to get and maintain their insurance!

Obviously, many different types of insurance exist, but the main purpose behind any insurance is to reduce risk and liability. So, when a person doesn’t have insurance, he or she is seriously at risk…at risk of

spending too much money, of losing things he or she holds dear, and of having to pay a lot of money he or she doesn’t have.

One of the most effective things you can do is to honestly talk to potential clients about the risk they face by not having insurance and by not being able to file claims with an insurance adjuster. If you do a good job of it, chances are you’ll end up with more business than you can handle. Don’t worry, though—you can always find an extra, skilled Pennsylvania insurance adjuster to help you out. Just put your trust in HC Adjusters.

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