Insurance

Perspectives: Mercury General, Poizner Make Millions Disappear in Primary Election

June 14, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Mercury "got taken for a ride" by political consultants, said Jamie Court, president and chairman of Consumer Watchdog and a board member of its CCR affiliate. Prop 17, which lost by a 4% margin, was never going to pass, he said.

Voter Skepticism of Big Moneyed Interests Could Play Role in Fall Campaign

June 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Voters had to work hard to sift through the "obfuscation" and "deception" employed by PG&E and Mercury Insurance, said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, whose political action committee ran the opposition campaign to Prop. 17. "They had to resist an all-out attack by special interests," Heller said, "and they managed to go to the newspapers and blogs and editorial boards and pick through the rubbish." </p>

Despite Prop. 17’s Defeat, Auto Insurers’ Battle May Not Be Over

June 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Proponents failed in their attempt “to scam California drivers by authorizing surcharges that voters made illegal in 1988 when they passed Proposition 103,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog and author of the ballot measure that has regulated car insurance rates for 22 years. “This is a victory not just for motorists in California, but a broader victory for California voters, who have made it clear they don’t intend to let insurance companies or utility companies or other big corporations subvert the people’s initiative process,” Rosenfield said. </p>

Prop. 17: Auto Insurance Measure Appears To Fail

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Proposition 17, auto insurance measure, appeared to be headed for defeat. With 99. 1 percent of the precincts reporting, it was losing by 158,000 votes, or 52-48 percent.

Voters Reject Corporate-Backed Ballot Measures

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Voters rejected two business-backed measures that would have changed the electric power and auto insurance industries in California. Harvey Rosenfield, the noted consumer advocate who led the fight against the proposition, was scheduled to make a statement later. Existing law lets insurers offer loyalty (or “persistency”) discounts to long-term customers. Mercury has been fighting for years for the right to extend the discounts to other insurers’ long-term customers in an effort to lure them away. Rosenfield says that because of the “zero sum” regulations governing insurance premiums in California, companies that give discounts to one group have to raise premiums on others. He said newly insured motorists, or those who’d let their insurance expire temporarily, would pay big surcharges as a result.

California Voters Reject Mercury General-Funded Ballot Question

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The outcome was a victory for consumer groups that argued the referendum would effectively legalize surcharges outlawed since the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988. Because those with lapses in coverage or payments would be disqualified from discounts, the initiative would allow insurers to charge those customers more, they argued.

California Election Results: Insurance, Electricity Initiatives Backed By Major Corporations Are Rejected

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<!-- sphereit start --> <p> California voters rejected the two initiatives put on Tuesday's ballot by major corporations -- Proposition 16, requiring voter approval before cities can get into the electricity business, and Proposition 17, giving auto insurance companies more leeway in setting rates. </p>

Anthem Blue Cross: Fight health reform, then take credit for health reform

June 8, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Anthem Blue Cross just sent out the <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/AnthemLetter.pdf">warmest, fuzziest letter to policyholders,</a> touting the generous, caring steps it is taking since the health reform bill passed. It made me gag. The first thing the letter brags about--that Blue Cross won't cancel your policy when you get sick--is what it is being forced to do after <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=27967">ruining the lives of seriously ill people </a>for decades. </p>

Businesses Question Insurance Tax Credits Some Fear Premium Hikes Will Cut Gains

June 7, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield wrote and lobbied for Proposition 103 in 1988. With its passage, the state regulated auto and homeowners' insurance and challenged rate hikes, he said. "In California, five companies control 96 percent of the health insurance market. It's almost a cartel," he said. "After a decade's worth of double-digit increases, and you get them again in a recession, there's just no more money to pay the price." </p>

Insurers Weigh in on Democratic Races

June 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

“Insurers are spending millions of dollars to influence the outcome of Tuesday’s election, but most voters don’t know insurance companies are out there propping up initiatives and attacking candidates,” said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, which is virtually single-handedly taking on Mercury Insurance Corp.’s Proposition 17. Mercury has outraised Consumer Watchdog’s PAC $15.9 million to $1 million."

Two Health Care Adversaries Find a Need to Collaborate

June 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

After squaring off as political foes for more than a year, the Obama administration and the health insurance industry have suddenly discovered that they need each other. Carmen L. Balber, director of the Washington office of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group, said: ''The success of health care reform depends, in part, on the cooperation of the insurance industry. Insurers have endless opportunities to throw up roadblocks. If they try to hold on to the old way of doing business, it will be much harder for the administration to achieve the goal of high-quality, affordable care.''

Corporate “smart initiatives” will test California voters’ smarts Tuesday

June 3, 2010  ·  Jamie Court

<p> During my two decades battling in California's ballot initiative process never before have large corporations been poised to gain so much so cleverly as in next Tuesday's election. </p> <p> Industries have long tried to lard ballots...</p>