Insurance Archives

US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Mercury Insurance Challenge to Prop 103 Insurance Rules that Saved California Motorists Over $100 Billion

Harvey Rosenfield - February 20, 2018

SANTA MONICA, CA - The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a challenge brought by Mercury Insurance, State Farm and other insurance companies across the...

State Farm Power Grab Threatens Auto Safety

Jamie Court - January 18, 2018

SACRAMENTO, CA – Consumer Watchdog urged Assembly member Autumn Burke (D-Los Angeles) to withdraw legislation backed by State Farm Insurance because it “will irreparably...

Consumer Watchdog’s Prop 103 Challenges Bring $227 Million in Insurance Rate Savings

Harvey Rosenfield - January 11, 2018

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog’s challenges filed under Proposition 103 to proposed auto, home and business insurance rate increases saved consumers $227.4 million...

Wildfires Should Ignite Crackdown on State Farm To Be Better Neighbor

Jamie Court - December 6, 2017

The wildfires devastating Bel Air, Ventura and Southern California's canyons are destroying homes in their path. Unfortunately, many of those homeowners are going to find that when they...

California Insurance Regulator Orders Companies To Stop Discriminatory Pricing

Mark Reback - September 21, 2017

In response to an investigative report, the California Department of Insurance has ordered Nationwide and USAA to not charge motorists in minority neighborhoods more...

California Regulators Require Auto Insurers To Adjust Rates

Mark Reback - September 20, 2017

This story was co-published with Consumer Reports. California regulators said they have required Nationwide and USAA to adjust their auto insurance rates as a result...

California Dept. of Insurance Says It Has Stopped Overcharges Exposed by ProPublica

Harvey Rosenfield - September 20, 2017

Santa Monica, CA -- Acting in response to an investigative report by journalists at ProPublica, the California Department of Insurance has ordered two insurance...

Farmers Insurance Asks Court To Block State Review Of Auto Rates And A Possible Refund Order

Mark Reback - August 29, 2017

Farmers Insurance has asked a court to block a state review of its auto insurance rates dating to 2008, making it the latest case...

Consumer Watchdog Petitions Commissioner to Stop Travelers from Overcharging Small Business Owners

Carmen Balber - June 21, 2017

Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog has filed a petition challenging the insurance rates that two companies in the Travelers Group want to charge...

Consumer Watchdog Calls On Insurance Commissioner To Investigate If Insurers Are Violating Prop 103 By Pricing Based On Zip-Code

Harvey Rosenfield - April 21, 2017

Santa Monica, CA – An analysis released today by non-profit journalists at ProPublica finds that four auto insurance companies in California mark up prices...

Consumers Win $246 Million in Savings From Prop 103 Rate Challenges in 2016

Carmen Balber - January 19, 2017

Santa Monica, CA – California consumers and small business owners saved $246 million dollars on their insurance in 2016 thanks to public rate challenges brought by Consumer Watchdog under insurance reform initiative Proposition 103.

Consumer Watchdog Opposes Delay in $256 Million in Refunds and Rate Savings for State Farm Customers

Harvey Rosenfield - December 15, 2016

Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog will be in court tomorrow to oppose a request by State Farm, California’s largest insurance company, to postpone refunds of more than $100 million in overcharges on home, condo and renters insurance, and delay a 7% rate cut that would save customers $156 million per year (including the savings from denying the 6.9% rate increase sought by State Farm).

Consumer Watchdog Challenges $210 Million Excessive State Farm Rate Hike on 1.7 Million California Renters and Homeowners

Carmen Balber - October 20, 2015

Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog has challenged a rate increase proposed by State Farm, the state’s largest homeowners insurance company, that would overcharge...

What Works: A Review of Auto Insurance Rate Regulation in America and How Best Practices Save Billions of Dollars

Doug Heller - November 17, 2013

Over the past quarter century, auto insurance expenditures in America have risen by more than 40 percent. Consumers in some states are paying 80...

Health Reform and Insurance Regulation: Can’t Have One Without the Other

Jamie Court - May 5, 2011

Health insurance premiums are increasing at a rate faster than medical inflation, especially in the volatile individual and small group markets, and worker incomes...

Top 10 Reasons You Can’t Trust Mercury Insurance

Consumer Watchdog - August 4, 2010

For years, Mercury Insurance illegally overcharged hundreds of thousands of California drivers hundreds of dollars per year, until they were forced to stop in the wake of a Court of Appeal decision in 2005.

Text of Proposition 103

Consumer Watchdog - January 1, 2008

The full text, with amendments, of California's 1988 historic insurance reform law.

Insurance Industry Files Ballot Initiatives to Repeal Prop. 103, Raise Auto, Home and Business Rates by Hundreds of Dollars Per Year

Harvey Rosenfield - January 5, 2006

Consumer Advocates See Rematch of $80 Million 1988 Battle

False Accounting: How Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies Inflate Losses to Justify Sudden Surges in Rates and Tort Reform

Jamie Court - December 7, 2005

In this study, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR)1 reviews the loss projections of medical malpractice insurance companies, beginning with the “insurance...

How Insurance Reform Lowered Doctors’ Medical Malpractice Rates in California

ConsumerWatchdog - March 7, 2003

This report shows how California’s landmark Proposition 103 has lowered Medical Malpractice rates for doctors across the state. It also shows how caps on...

Los Angeles Times – The L.A. wildfires exposed a broken insurance market. Why wasn’t it fixed?

Los Angeles Times – International travel. Fancy meals. Missing receipts. Who paid the tab for this top official?

Spectrum News 1: Palisades Fire Rebuild Insurance Concerns

San Francisco Chronicle – State Farm faces second government investigation into Los Angeles wildfire response

Smoke & Mirrors Podcast Exposes Troubling Tactics of Insurance Subcontractors in Wildfire Recovery

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