Blogs

Consumer Watchdog Testifies, Calls on CA Lawmakers to Require Insurance Companies to Cover Fire Victims Who Build Back Better

March 13, 2025  ·  Carmen Balber

Consumer Watchdog executive director Carmen Balber testified on March 12, 2025 to the State Senate Insurance Committee about the state of the insurance market after...

Consumer Watchdog: Wildfire and Windstorm Alert for Los Angeles County and Surrounding Areas

January 13, 2025  ·  Will Pletcher

If your home has been destroyed or damaged by the recent wildfires or windstorms in California, it’s essential to know your rights and available resources.

Insurance Commissioner Seeks to Avoid State Review of Regulation Permitting Insurers to Use Secret Black-Box Models to Set Rates

December 11, 2024  ·  Ryan Mellino

On December 5, 2024, Consumer Watchdog sent a letter to California’s Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) objecting to the Department of Insurance’s (“the Department”) use...

Alert: Garamendi Calls On Commissioner Lara To Step Aside

November 14, 2024  ·  Carmen Balber

Former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi called on Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to step aside if he’s unwilling to stand up to the insurance industry. In...

State Farm’s Shady Reinsurance Deal

November 8, 2024  ·  Carmen Balber

Annual reports for State Farm’s home insurance subsidiary in California suggest it’s sending profits out of state by overpaying its parent company for reinsurance. California...

Consumer Watchdog Saves Policyholders More Than $53 million with 21st Century, USAA, and Liberty Insurance Rate Hike Challenges

November 1, 2024  ·  Ben Powell

Los Angeles, CA — Consumer Watchdog recently reached settlement in three challenges to double-digit rate hikes requested by 21st Century Insurance Company for its auto policies,...

Consumer Watchdog Achieves Increased Transparency, Enhanced Wildfire Risk Disclosures for Consumers in Settlement with Allstate

August 22, 2024  ·  Ben Powell

Consumer Watchdog reached a settlement with Allstate and the California Department of Insurance, resolving the company’s application with the Department for a rate increase of...

Insurance Commissioner Lara Certifies Consumer Watchdog’s Right To Intervene In Rate Cases

August 7, 2024  ·  Jamie Court

It should have been proforma, but Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has finally certified Consumer Watchdog’s right to collect compensation for intervening in insurance rate cases....

Lara’s 85% wildfire coverage plan morphed to just 5%

June 17, 2024  ·  Carmen Balber

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s latest regulation to get insurers covering California again has another massive loophole. Insurers’ so-called commitment to increase sales in risky areas...

Commissioner’s Secret Cat Model Plan

May 2, 2024  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Imagine if the IRS were allowed to base your taxes on its own “projections” of your income. And you were not allowed to check the...

Consumer Watchdog Urges Insurance Discounts for Homeowners, Protections Against Policy Cancellations and Withdrawals in Wildfire Areas

January 29, 2021  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

When disaster hits, insurance companies are supposed to have your back… but their number one priority is almost always their own financial well-being. We’ve seen...

Wildfire Recovery: Insurance Tips for California Homeowners

September 25, 2020  ·  Carmen Balber

  With 33 active fires and 3.6 million acres burned, including the largest in California history, tens of thousands of Californians have been displaced by...