Insurance

Chronicle reveals discrimination at Mercury Insurance, Soldiers targeted

February 8, 2010  ·  Doug Heller

<p> In case all those ads about how great insurance companies are was starting to make you feel all fuzzy inside, Carla Marinucci at the San Francisco Chronicle just posted a revealing and disturbing look into the widespread discrimination at California's 3rd largest auto insurer, Mercury Insurance.... </p>

State Program Helps Connect Drivers with Low-Cost Auto Insurance

February 6, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

People who feel they can't afford car liability insurance probably don't know about a state program that costs as little as $254 a year. That is substantially less than the price of a ticket in Kern County for not having insurance -- $786, court officials said.

Internal Documents Reveal Widespread Discrimination At Mercury Insurance

February 5, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Internal reports prepared by California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigators show that Mercury Insurance Company used a variety of internal company rules – many unwritten – to overcharge or refuse to sell insurance to many Californians it deemed "unacceptable," including Americans serving in the military, small businesspeople, unmarried people living together, people with diabetes, and the unemployed.

New Jerseyans Could Soon Be Able to Shop Across State Lines for Health Insurance

February 3, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

If insurers can sell beyond state lines, the concern is that consumers would be attracted to the least comprehensive policies because they'd be cheapest. For example, someone could buy a policy in a state that doesn't mandate coverage of diabetic supplies. "You get what you pay for in these policies (and) consumers won't realize it until they are sick and it's too late," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy analyst for Consumer Watchdog, a California consumer health group.

California Low Cost Auto insurance Program Surged Amid Recession, Outreach

February 1, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> SACRAMENTO, CA -- Enrollment in the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program surged 18.9% in 2009 due to the poor economy and an aggressive outreach program, the state Department of Insurance said. According to Consumer Watchdog, nearly 49,000 had been purchased by California drivers through September 2009. Between 80% to 96% of those drivers were uninsured prior to enrolling (BestWire, Oct. 13, 2009). </p>

GeoVera Boosts Earthquake Insurance Premiums

January 28, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Todd Foreman of Consumerwatchdog.org says his organization, based in Santa Monica, has received complaints from GeoVera customers in Southern California whose rates have jumped as much as 300 percent. Foreman says his group is planning to ask the insurance commissioner to investigate whether the switch in rebuilding-cost estimates "is improperly increasing premiums." Foreman also says GeoVera is applying the 20 percent demand surge in a way that violates an agreement among Consumer Watchdog, GeoVera and the insurance department.

Is Health Overhaul Possible Without Requiring Coverage?

January 26, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With a major health overhaul in deep trouble, some lawmakers want a scaled-back approach that targets the indisputably unpopular insurance industry, by enacting such popular ideas as requiring insurers to accept people with medical problems and barring them from canceling policies or charging more for customers with health problems. Jerry Flanagan, the health care policy director of the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group in Los Angeles, never bought the idea of a mandate. "The industry was crying a lot of crocodile tears. The idea that people won't buy coverage unless it's required is largely overblown," he says. A more modest bill that includes new limits on insurers but doesn't force people to buy coverage will prove that "Congress can stand up to the industry." </p>

GOP Decries ‘Phony War’ On Wall Street

January 25, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog, the consumer advocacy group, released its own report last week targeting the industry for spending big money on campaign contributions and lobbying efforts. The report found that the 23 members of the Senate Banking Committee received nearly $42 million in campaign contributions from the industry between 2005 and 2009. Democrats made up seven of the top 10 recipients, the report showed.<br />

Haiti Refocuses Attention On Quake Insurance

January 25, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

This month's big earthquake in Eureka, followed by the far more devastating one in Haiti, should focus attention on the staggering uninsured losses that will result from the next big shaker in California unless something is done soon.

Interstate Insurance Sales Considered By Legislators

January 22, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A proposal to allow Georgia residents to buy individual insurance plans across state lines could give residents cheaper options for coverage, but consumer protections would be a necessary component, said a North Georgia insurance agent. In the U.S. House health reform bill, Republicans tried to include a provision that would have allowed individual plans to be sold across state lines nationwide. The provision was rejected. The overhaul bills passed by the House and Senate offered similar provisions with added regulations, though critics say those consumer protections still don't go far enough. "The idea is very seductive, but the details are very bad for consumers," said Jerry Flanagan, health policy director for Consumer Watchdog. "Insurance companies are pushing these plans to essentially deregulate state regulation of health insurance."

Googling Obama’s China policy

January 16, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Google's ties to the Obama administration are perhaps unrivaled in corporate America, but the Internet giant's announcement this week that it's considering pulling out of China because of Chinese censorship and hacker attacks put the White House in a tricky spot. "They like to go around and sing the mantra, 'Don't be evil,'" said John Simpson, a consumer advocate with the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog. "But they almost always act in what they perceive to be Google's interest - and that doesn't necessarily coincide with that of any government."

Proposals Clash On States’ Role In Health Plans

January 14, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Should someone in Idaho or Nevada have significantly different health care coverage from someone in Massachusetts? That, essentially, is one of the biggest questions Congress will be wrestling with as it tries to meld House and Senate bills into a single law to revamp the nation’s health care system. Even some consumer advocates agree that the states should continue to serve as insurance regulators, even if the federal government sets the ground rules. “You always want the states to be the first responder,” said Jerry Flanagan, a health care advocate for Consumer Watchdog in California. </p>