Latest Policyholder Headlines

All the headlines from our Policyholder Topic Page, ordered by recency.

S. Africa’s Regulator to Clarify Policyholders’ Rights in Pandemic Insurance Claims

Aug 7 2020 // South Africa’s financial watchdog is consulting with lawyers and the insurance industry on a potential test case to clarify whether insurers should pay rejected claims from firms hit by the impact of the coronavirus,...

Virginia Offers Guidance for Policyholders in Wake of Tropical Storm Isaias

Aug 7 2020 // The Virginia State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) Bureau of Insurance is encouraging policyholders that sustained property damage from Tropical Storm Isaias to contact their insurance company or agent as soon as...

Rule Requires Washington Insurers to Notify Consumers of Appeal Rights

Aug 3 2020 // All insurers in Washington that take action against a policyholder must include information in the notices about the right to appeal and how to contact the insurance commissioner’s Consumer Protection division if...

S. African Insurers Bow to Policyholder Demands to Pay COVID Biz Interruption Relief

Jul 29 2020 // South African insurers are bowing to demands for the payment of losses that businesses suffered during the nation’s lockdown. Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Ltd.’s Guardrisk will make settlement payments to...

Encova Insurance Offering Personal Lines Products Digitally to Indiana Agents

Jul 28 2020 // Encova Insurance, based in Columbus, Ohio, has launched a new suite of personal lines products that will be delivered digitally to agents in Indiana. With Encova’s new personal lines product offering, agents and...

Florida’s Citizens Won’t Resume Policy Cancellations in August After All

Jul 28 2020 // Florida’s state-run insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will extend its moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals until the end of 2020 despite saying earlier this month it would resume processing them on...

Geico Sued for Alleged ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Coronavirus Auto Insurance Discount

Jul 24 2020 // Berkshire Hathaway’s Geico, the country’s second largest auto insurer, is being targeted by a potential class action for allegedly overcharging its policyholders during the pandemic. A lawsuit filed in federal...

Personal Lines Insurance Poised to Turn Profit in 2020 As Auto Claims Fall: Fitch

Jul 20 2020 // After a profitable 2019, the U.S. personal lines insurance sector is positioned to see underwriting profits in 2020 even with considerable economic uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from...

Florida’s Citizens to Resume Policy Cancellations, Nonrenewals Next Month

Jul 14 2020 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s insurer of last resort, will resume processing cancellations and nonrenewal notices next month after halting them back in March in response to the state’s...

New York Insurance Broker Arrested, Charged in $1M Fraud Scheme

Jun 30 2020 // A New York state insurance broker has been arrested and charged with wire fraud, attempted wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr....

Insurance Dept: Required Premium Relief Has Saved California Drivers $1.2B

Jun 30 2020 // California automobile insurance companies have agreed to provide $1.21 billion in savings to drivers, the state insurance department says. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in May issued an order requiring insurers to...

MEMIC to Distribute Early $17M Dividend for Eligible Maine Policyholders

Jun 18 2020 // In recognition of economic stress being experienced by many of its 18,000 Maine workers’ compensation insurance policyholders, Portland, Maine-based MEMIC’s board of directors has authorized the immediate...

Hiscox Action Group Launches £40M Arbitration Claim for COVID Biz Interruption Dispute

Jun 15 2020 // The law firm that represents the Hiscox Action Group has commenced an arbitration against Hiscox Insurance for non-payment of business interruption insurance totaling £40 million ($50 million). The action group, composed...

Massachusetts’ Safety Insurance Extends Personal Auto Relief Credit

Jun 12 2020 // Safety Insurance has extended its Personal Auto Relief Credit through June 30 to reflect changing consumer patterns and needs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a company press release. The original credit...

Michigan’s AmeriTrust Group Extends Policyholder Relief Programs to Sept. 1

Jun 4 2020 // AmeriTrust Group Inc., based in Southfield, Michigan, has extended both its program to guarantee renewals of all admitted general business policies and its Economic Relief Payment Plan until Sept. 1, 2020. The company said...

SAIF in Oregon Declares $100 Million Dividend for Policyholders

Jun 3 2020 // SAIF, Oregon’s state chartered workers’ compensation insurer, has declared a $100 million dividend for policyholders. Kerry Barnett, president and CEO of SAIF, remarked that the dividend comes at a difficult...

Viewpoint: What’s Fair When It Comes to Paying Insurance Claims?

May 28 2020 // The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has tragically resulted in the deaths of 100,000 Americans, changed our day-to-day lives, hampered our economy, and forced us to reexamine how we live. As the country moves to reopening, after...

Wisconsin Commissioner Seeks Rehabilitation for Time Insurance Co.

May 19 2020 // Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable has filed a petition and proposed court order that would allow the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) to place Time Insurance Co. in rehabilitation. Time...

California Expands Order for Insurers to Partially Refund Premiums

May 15 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today issued a bulletin extending his previous order requiring insurance companies to return partial insurance premiums to consumers and businesses amid the ongoing COVID-19...

Florida’s Capitol Preferred to Shed Nearly 24K Policies; Regulator to Monitor Operations

May 15 2020 // Capitol Preferred Insurance Co., one of the top writers of homeowners insurance in Florida, has received approval from the state’s insurance regulator to shed 23,800 policies just weeks before the start of hurricane...