Posts Tagged: claims

Opinion

Prison-inmate fraud is last straw for beleaguered EDD

An Employment Development Department office in Sacramento. (Photo: Screen capture, ABC7 News)

‌As residents of one of the highest taxed states in the nation, Californians‌ have a right to expect the government they pay handsomely to provide the basic services their taxes fund. For‌ ‌instance,  ‌we‌ ‌expect‌ ‌that‌ ‌when‌ ‌we‌ ‌have‌ ‌an‌ ‌emergency‌ ‌and‌ ‌we‌ ‌dial‌  ‌9-1-1,‌ ‌help‌ ‌will‌ ‌arrive‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌burst‌ ‌of‌ ‌flashing‌ ‌lights,‌ ‌sirens,‌ ‌and‌ ‌hurried‌ ‌professionals.‌

Opinion

Insurance adjustment: CA surety bond adds inefficiency

Motorists in Oceanside drive through flooded streets after the arrival of a tropical storm.(Photo: DBSOCAL, via Shutterrstock)

OPINION: From mudslides to droughts, fires to earthquakes, natural disasters are an inexorable part of our way of life. Needless to say, the cost of these disasters is staggering. In 2018 alone, wildfires in our state accounted for nearly a quarter of all insurance company disaster claims nationwide. 

Opinion

California regulators should pause Privacy Act rules

Illustration by Vector Image Plus, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As an ambitious attempt to give consumers more control over how businesses collect, store, and use their personal information, it is clear the California Consumer Privacy Act will have effects that reach far beyond the technology sector.

Opinion

Proposed auto insurance rules could hurt teachers

A photo illustration of a driver on the road. (Image: Minerva Studio, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California’s track record regarding treatment of its teachers is mediocre at best. Budget cuts, overcrowded classrooms, a lack of school supplies, paychecks completely out of touch with the cost of living—teachers know what it’s like to be low priority.

News

As economy surges, a dramatic drop in workers on disability

Tens of thousands of Californians have come off the Social Security disability payroll and gone back to work, part of a national trend that reflects a surging U.S. economy, a shift toward less conventional work and tighter supervision of what qualifies a worker for disability benefits.

Podcast

CW Podcast: Bob Wieckowski on PG&E’s bankruptcy peril

State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, who represents the 10th Senate District.(Senate photo)

State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, is more than just the senator representing California’s 10th Senate District. He’s also a bankruptcy lawyer, giving him an unusual insight into Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s recent bankruptcy declaration.

Opinion

Claims adjusters need training, background checks

A man surveys the charred debris of Glen Ellen home following a 2017 wildfire. (Photo: Rebecca Jane Call, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Recently Capitol Weekly printed an article by David Farber (“Don’t fix unbroken system for claims adjusters,” April 16) asserting that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) was advocating for a bill, SB 1291 by state Sen. Bill Dodd, which would, in Farber’s words, “create a shortage of claims professionals” in the aftermath of last year’s devastating wildfires. Farber couldn’t be more wrong.

Opinion

Don’t fix unbroken system for claims adjusters

Destruction from last year's Wine Country fires. (Photo: Janos Rautonen, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The current system allows claims adjusting companies that employ professional adjusters to secure a license covering its employees, which is practical and efficient and meets the needs of California’s consumers. Far from unique, this system has been proven to work in states like Montana and Utah. However, if the department’s bill, SB 1291 is enacted, it would totally upend a perfectly functional system for licensing independent insurance adjusters by disallowing state licensing for companies to cover its professionals

Opinion

Gaming the system in asbestos lawsuits

A worker removes asbestos-laden material from a building roof. (Photo: Bjoern Wylezich)

OPINION: First, the lawyer sues the solvent company and receives a full recovery after trial or settlement. Then, the lawyer files a claim before the bankruptcy trust for the same exact harm. Of course, it’s entirely possible the plaintiff was exposed to multiple different brands of asbestos. If that’s the case, then the trust should know about exposure to other asbestos from solvent companies.

Analysis

PolitiFact: Trump wrong on CA voter fraud

Trump offered no evidence about California voter fraud in his series of tweets. Trump spokesman Jason Miller cited a national study done by the Pew Research Center showing that approximately 24 million voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or inaccurate. However, no one from Trump’s office has shown evidence of “serious voter fraud” in California.

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