Consumer Watchdog

Will You Press Your Connected Car’s Network Kill Switch? Smart Cars Must Have It Now

By Staff Reporter, AUTO WORLD NEWS

November 4, 2019

https://www.autoworldnews.com/articles/39390/20191104/will-you-press-yo…

When cars were analogue and mechanical, all we had to fear was a face to face hold up. Any connected car is a smart car-like "Swiss Cheese" with holes waiting for a breach. The solution as recommended, by Consumer Watchdog is to slap in a "Kill Switch".

PG&E Spent $876,445 On Lobbying From Jan. 1 To June 30 - After Spending Nearly $10 Million In 2018

By Dan Bacher, INDYBAY MEDIA

October 31, 2019

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/10/31/18827743.php

The Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), again in the spotlight of the national and international news media because of its shutoffs of electricity to millions of Californians as fires now rage throughout the state, spent $876,445 on lobbying from January 1 to June 30 of his year.

California Fires Will Result In Higher Insurance Rates For Homeowners

By David Lazarus, LOS ANGELES TIMES

October 31, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-31/fire-insurance-david-…

Vida Hamadani was hit twice this week by the Getty fire. As a Brentwood resident, she was forced to evacuate from her house and move in with her son.

As an independent insurance broker, she’s been fielding calls from clients asking what’s going to happen to their rates.

10 Years Of California Blackouts? Gavin Newsom Says This Is ‘Not The New Normal’

By Hannah Wiley and Dale Kasler, SACRAMENTO BEE - CAPITOL ALERT

October 30, 2019

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article23…

As California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, battled bankruptcy and prepared for another round of mass power outages across the state, the company’s executive said Californians should expect to see fire-preventing blackouts for the next 10 years.

PG&E Will Credit Customers Subject To Oct. 9 Blackouts, But Not Current Ones

By J.D. Morris and Trapper Byrne, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

October 29, 2019

https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/PG-E-will-cred…

Bowing to pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will provide some form of compensation to people affected by widely criticized mass power outages the utility implemented earlier this month.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Has Ordered An Investigation Into Soaring Gas Prices In The State

Californians consistently pay a dollar to a dollar fifty more for our gasoline and there`s no good reason for it.

By Anne-Marie Green, CBS NEWS

October 28, 2019

ANNE-MARIE GREEN: And California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered an investigation into soaring gas prices in the state. Carter Evans reports.

(Begin VT)

CARTER EVANS: Eye-popping prices at the pump are a harsh reality for Californians.

Newsom Appoints Two Top Oil And Gas Regulators, Including A Former Chevron Staffer

By Dan Bacher, INDY BAY MEDIA

October 20, 2019

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/10/20/18827485.php

The appointments of Shabazian and Ntuk come in the wake of increased opposition by environmental justice, conservation and public interest groups to the expansion of onshore and offshore drilling in California under Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom.

Prudential To Start Charging Same Insurance Rates To Vapers As Traditional Smokers

By Staff Writers, SCRIPPS NATIONAL

October 11, 2019

https://www.10news.com/news/national/prudential-to-start-charging-same-…

A change is coming to some people’s life and health insurance policies that will make them more expensive.

Prudential recently announced it will consider e-cigarette users the same as traditional smokers.

Mercury Paying $41M in Decades-Long Court Battle With California Insurance Department

By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL

October 2, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/10/02/541727.htm

Mercury Insurance Co. has agreed to pay more than $41 million to end a two-decade long battle with the California Department of Insurance battle over the Los Angeles-based carrier improperly tacking fees onto auto insurance policies and over false advertising claims.

Walters: New Battle Over $250,000 Cap On Medical Malpractice Awards

By Dan Walters, THE MERCURY NEWS

A dad who says his infant’s lungs were ‘blown up’ by malpractice and Consumer Watchdog propose nullifying it

October 2, 2019

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/02/walters-new-battle-over-250k-cap…

California’s longest-running single-issue political battle, over limits on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, is about to heat up again.

Gasoline Prices Soar To $4.06 A Gallon In San Diego

By Rob Nikolewski, THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

September 30, 2019

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/story/2019-0…

First, it was a missile attack in Saudi Arabia. Now, it’s another spate of refinery closures. Regardless of the reasons, San Diego motorists are being greeted by an unwelcome sight when they pull into the service station: The return of $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Calif. Group Seeks To Raise State's Med Mal Damages Cap

By Y. Peter Kang, LAW 360

September 27, 2019

 

https://www.law360.com/california/articles/1203371/calif-group-seeks-to…

Law360 (September 27, 2019, 9:18 PM EDT) -- A consumer advocacy group has launched a ballot initiative that would significantly raise California’s cap on pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases, five years after a similar proposal was shot down by voters.

Families of Injured Patients File California Ballot Measure to Raise MICRA

By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL

September 26, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/09/26/541369.htm

Several families of inured patients on Thursday filed proposed initiative for the November 2020 ballot to raise California’s medical malpractice cap.

The cap is set by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, MICRA, passed in 1975.

The Fairness for Injured Patients Act was filed with the Secretary of state.

L.A. Drops Lawsuit Over DWP Billing Errors. Now Ratepayers Could Owe Millions

By Dakota Smith, LOS ANGELES TIMES

September 26, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-26/dwp-pricewaterhouse…

The city of Los Angeles moved Thursday to abandon its high-profile lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers in what amounts to a stunning defeat for City Atty. Mike Feuer, who had tried to blame the consulting firm for the massive overbilling debacle at the Department of Water and Power.

Coalition Launches MICRA Ballot Initiative With Backing From Wealthy Trial Lawyer

By Angela Hart, POLITICO PRO

September 26, 2019

SACRAMENTO — A deep-pocketed lawyer and a coalition led by Consumer Watchdog are launching a November 2020 ballot initiative that would multiply the amount medical negligence victims stand to receive in court, potentially resurrecting a political dogfight involving attorneys, hospitals and doctors.

California Department of Insurance to Investigate Legality of Affinity Group Discounts

By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE

September 25, 2019

http://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=108&refnum=220466

SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Saying discounts offered to affinity groups in California exacerbate disparities in auto insurance rates that lead to higher costs for lower-income families and communities of color, the California insurance commissioner is looking into their legality.

Consumer Watchdog Asks California Attorney General to Investigate Insurance Commissioner

By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL

September 23, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/09/23/540852.htm

Consumer Watchdog has written California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the District Attorneys of Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles counties, calling for an investigation of money laundering and bribery relating to the fundraising scandal engulfing California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

Emails Blurred The Line Between Politics And Policy In California Insurance Department

By Hannah Wiley, SACRAMENTO BEE - CAPITOL ALERT

September 19, 2019

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article23…

When an industry executive reached out on May 1 to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s department staff, he emailed with two meeting requests: a “formal policy discussion” and a “political meeting.”

Consumer Watchdog: California Commissioner’s Calendar Suggests He Made Contact in ‘Pay to Play’

By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL

September 19, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/09/19/540547.htm

Calendar entries and documents show that California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, not his fundraiser, made first contact with an agent of a workers’ compensation insurance company offering political support in conjunction with seeking approval for a change of control in the company, according to Consumer Watchdog.

Recycling Centers Shut Down, Leaving Consumers Unable To Redeem Bottle Deposits

By Michael Finney & Renee Koury, KABC TV-7 San Francisco, CA

September 18, 2019

https://abc7news.com/society/bottle-deposits-go-unclaimed-as-recycling-…

DALY CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- The sudden shutdown of the state's largest recycling company has sparked outrage among consumers who say they've lost any reasonable way to redeem the deposits on their bottles and cans.

No One Can Agree on How to Price California Home Insurance for Wildfires

Insurers, consumer advocates at odds over use of algorithmic models to assess risk

By Nicole Friedman, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

September 16, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-one-can-agree-on-how-to-price-californi…

Finding home insurance in wildfire-prone parts of California is getting more difficult and more expensive. No one can agree on how to make it any easier.

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