Insurance

Blue Shield Stands by California Health Care Premium Hikes

January 15, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Blue Shield of California, stung by public outrage over its latest premium hikes, said Friday it won't back down from its plans to raise rates by as much as 59 percent, setting the stage for a confrontation with the state's new insurance commissioner.<br /> <br /> Last week, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones asked Blue Shield to delay for 60 days a planned rate hike the company said would go into effect in March. Earlier this week, Jones also asked Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and PacifiCare to delay their previously announced rate hikes.<br /> <br />

Blue Shield Defies Insurance Commissioner, Refuses 60 Day Hold On 59% Rate Hike

January 14, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<p>

Allstate Halts ‘Your Choice Auto’ Sales in California

January 14, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Allstate Corp. will no longer issue new "Your Choice Auto" policies in California.<br /> <br /> Consumer education and advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog said that comes in response to a challenge by the group, which said it considers the policies to be "deceptive and overpriced."<br /> <br />

‘Kicked in the Stomach’ — Inland Cancer Patient Fights for Life, Health Coverage

January 14, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/healthcare/stories/PE_News_Local_D_insurance14.1173cce.html"><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-9004" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/insurance.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 179px; float: right;" width="400" height="287" />Click here to download and listen to the story podcast</a>.</p> <p>  </p>

Auto Insurers Win Ruling in State High Court

January 13, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<h1> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/01/13/BUT61H80VH.DTL&o=0&type=printable" target="" rel="noopener"><img alt="Steve Poizner, ex-state insurance chief, joined the effor..." border="0" src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2010/06/03_t/mn-field04_PH2_p_0501747074_t.gif" vspace="1" /></a></h1> <p> <span id="articlebody">In a victory for insurance companies, the state Supreme Court left intact Wednesday a ruling barring consumers in California from suing automobile insurers over their rates.</span></p>

Allstate Pulls ‘Deceptive’ Product in California

January 13, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Allstate has stopped selling California drivers its "Your Choice Auto" policies after a consumer group claimed the product was deceptive.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-11/allstate-pulls-product-from-california-after-dispute.html">Bloomberg reported Tuesday</a> that the Northbrook, Ill.-based insurance giant pulled the program early this week and will phase out coverage by November. Allstate will continue selling the policies in other states.<br /> <br />

Santa Monica: Councilman Requests Disclosure of Financial Contributions to Lawmakers from Entities Seeking Public Benefits

January 13, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="content"> Responding to a recent outcry over the perception that developers who help finance city lawmakers have an inside track to having their projects approved, Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown recently asked for the consideration of a policy that will make public any campaign contributions by anyone who wishes to build in the city.<br /> <br /> McKeown's request came at the Jan. 11 council meeting, where a number of neighborhood and public interest groups also backed his policy recommendation. The motion was rejected by a 4-2 vote.</p>

Allstate Withdraws ‘Deceptive’ Auto Insurance from California

January 12, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Allstate Insurance agreed to stop selling its Your Choice Auto (YCA) insurance program in California after Consumer Watchdog said the insurance was “deceptive and overpriced,” according to the nonprofit.<br /> <br /> Allstate won’t issue new YCA policies and will phase out the 150,000 existing policies in California by November 2011, the nonprofit reported. The company will continue selling YCA policies in other states, according to Consumer Watchdog.<br /> <br />

Allstate Halts California Your Choice Auto Sales After Consumer Complaints

January 11, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, halted sales of its Your Choice Auto product in California after a consumer group said drivers were cheated.</p> <p> Allstate will no longer issue new Your Choice Auto policies in the state and will phase out the coverage by November, according to a statement yesterday from the Consumer Watchdog group. Northbrook, Illinois-based Allstate agreed to the wind- down under a deal with the group and the state regulator.</p>

Californians Brace for 59% Premium Hike

January 7, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> One of California's largest health insurers - Blue Shield - announced plans to hike its premiums by as much as 59%.<br /> <br /> The jacked up premium rates are set to take effect on March 1, pending review from state insurance regulators. The move impacts 193,000 individual Blue Shield policy holders.<br /> <br />

Insurance Chief Jones Urges Blue Shield to Delay Big Rate Hike

January 7, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Only days into the job, state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones faced off with the health insurance industry Thursday, calling on Blue Shield of California to delay plans to raise premiums by as much as 59 percent on nearly 200,000 Californians who buy health coverage on their own.</p> <div class="lingo_region entry-content" id="articlebody"> <p> Jones, a Sacramento Democrat who was sworn in Monday, also renewed his push to give his agency the authority to reject "excessive rate increases."</p>

Blue Shield Urged to Hold Off on Rate Increases

January 7, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> State health regulators called on Blue Shield of California on Thursday to hold off raising its health insurance premiums for 60 days to thousands of individual policyholders, some of whom were hit with hikes as high as 59 percent.</p>