Author here. As the arbitration attorney said earlier, "They don’t make money by paying out claims!" No insurance company or home warranty company exists to pay out claims. I laugh when I hear them claim that their business is to diversify risk.

Any sort of out clause that the have to not pay a claim, they will try to use. In this case, it was "you didn't get a preauth." This makes it by no means a binary, black/white issue contrary to what a stereotypical HNer believes.

As far as a national consumer protection law that doubles reimbursement, good luck. I'm shocked that foreigners are shocked when they hear that the US actually has very few national laws. The country is big, diverse, and the regional histories that bought the states together, and grew, is too varied. The system is set up so that the states handle most legal issues. I for one am fine with that.