Insurance

Critics Say Initiative Hits Some Motorists Too Hard

February 16, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

California’s third-largest auto insurance company says it’s just trying to give consumers a break by pushing a ballot initiative that could significantly change the way drivers are charged for their coverage. But consumer groups say that Proposition 17, which would allow insurers to set their rates partly based on how long drivers have had continuous coverage, could push auto rates higher for a large number of drivers — including military personnel who often let their insurance lapse when they are transferred.

Battle Over Auto Insurance Ballot Measure Heats Up

February 15, 2010  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

SACRAMENTO, CA -- For more than two decades, Mercury General Corp. Chairman George Joseph has been sparring with consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield over California's landmark automobile insurance law, Proposition 103. Combat over the latest initiative, Prop 17, escalated last week when the state Department of Insurance released legal documents sought by the San Francisco Chronicle. The documents accused Mercury of illegal practices, such as unfairly denying coverage and charging discriminatory rates to motorists who were not at fault in accidents, were members of the armed forces or worked in certain professions.

Anthem Blue Cross To Delay Rate Increases

February 15, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<b>The scheduled March 1 hike of up to 39% for individual health insurance policies will not take effect before May 1. In the meantime, California regulators will analyze the legality of the increases.</b> <br ><br > Jerry Flanagan, health policy director at Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, said Anthem's efforts may prompt a backlash. He urged the Legislature to give Poizner more power to review and possibly disapprove new rates. "Existing law is inadequate to restrain rate increases," he said.

Anthem Blue Cross Delays Major Rate Increases

February 15, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Days after national furor erupted over double-digit health insurance rate hikes for about 700,000 Anthem Blue Cross members in California, the insurer announced Saturday that it would delay the increases for two months to allow state regulators to conduct a review. Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director for Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, said the company has been raising rates by 20 to 40 percent for six straight years and is the biggest player not just in California but nationally, and therefore has a disproportionate influence over the market.

Steep Rate Increases By Anthem Blue Cross Under Scrutiny

February 12, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumers say they're seeing steep increases in their health insurance premiums, and one insurer raised rates as much as 39 percent for some customers after making almost $3 billion in profit in the last quarter alone. Jerry Flanagan, of Consumer Watchdog, a group endorsing regulation, says the rate hikes are about making a profit. </p> <p> JERRY FLANAGAN, CONSUMER WATCHDOG: This is not just Anthem. Insurance companies across the board will absolutely follow anthem's lead. </p>

Probes Sought On Jump In Rates

February 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Lawmakers quick to demand action on Anthem Blue Cross</strong><br /> <br /> Angry lawmakers turned up the heat on Anthem Blue Cross on Tuesday, calling for federal and state investigations into the California health insurer's decision to increase rates as much as 39% for thousands of policyholders statewide. Consumer advocates say the company's rate increases may not be new, but the political and economic environment has changed. "With the economy in the tubes, people are having a much harder time affording these big increases," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director for Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica. "Also, the fact that health care is in the political spotlight... gives a political opening to talk about the reform effort." </p>

Memo To Giant Health Insurance Companies

February 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

RACHEL MADDOW: In September, the group Consumer Watchdog alleged that the company was pressuring its own employees to write and call members of Congress to oppose reform. In October, an internal WellPoint memo announcing cuts to its own employees' health benefits made its way to Bloomberg News. That same month, one of WellPoint's Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield subsidiaries decided to sue the State of Maine for the right to raise premiums by more than 18 percent. The 10.9 percent increase approved already by Maine's insurance superintendent apparently wasn't enough for WellPoint's bottom line.

Ensuring Insurance Inequity

February 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>A California ballot item would legalize practices Mercury has been fined for.</strong><br />     <br /> If passed, Proposition 17 would require insurers to offer so-called "persistency" discounts to drivers who have good records and no lapse in coverage, which is a good thing for those people, naturally. But under the misleadingly titled Continuous Coverage Discount Initiative, other drivers would be punished, according to the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. If you have a lapse of 90 days or more in coverage for any reason other than foreign military service during a five-year period, you can be hit with a hefty surcharge.

Blue Cross jumps the shark with 39% price hike

February 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> You know the phrase: You've "jumped the shark" by doing something too monumentally stupid to be believed. Blue Cross's shark-jumper was its 39% <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=32665">health insurance premium hikes,</a> as other prices flatlined or dropped. Boy, did that focus the attention of a Congress and White House flailing around a sinking health care reform bill. </p> <p> <a href="http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2666632"></a> </p>

Mercury Insurance in Trouble for High Rates

February 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

There are major questions for a big auto insurance company over sky-high rates. A 275 page California Insurance Commission report obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle is landing a damaging blow to Mercury Insurance, just as it fights to change California car insurance regulations.

Group: Car Insurance Proposal Aims To Raise Rates

February 9, 2010  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

To some, the proposed initiative known as the Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act sounds appealing. But consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog told 10News that potential voters should not be fooled. They said the initiative is a thinly veiled attempt to raise insurance rates. “It’s a fraud, it’s full of deception, it will lead to higher insurance premiums,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog group and author of Proposition 103, which overhauled the insurance market in 1988.

History of Discrimination Cited Against Mercury Insurance

February 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> SACRAMENTO, CA -- Mercury Insurance Corp. has a history of discriminatory practices against an array of groups, including military personnel, that led to unfair surcharges or outright denial of coverage, according to a 275-page report released by the Department of Insurance. The document, which is being used as part of an administrative case the department is building against the company, was touted Monday by a leading consumer advocate as proof that Mercury intends to "legalize what is now illegal," with Proposition 17, the ballot measure underfunded largely by Mercury. </p>