Insurance

Health-Care Insurance Cheaper In The Suburbs

November 2, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Firm's Data Show The Farther You live From Downtown Chicago, The Less Expensive Your Monthly Coverage.</strong><!-- Article's First Paragraph --> <p> Judy Dugan, research director for Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based public policy advocacy group, said that while she couldn't reach specific conclusions without the underlying data, the findings point out that today's individual-coverage insurance market "is the Wild West" partly because each person is buying customized coverage that is largely unregulated. Dugan speculated that many insurance companies don't want to do business in an urban area because "they like a mommy and a daddy and three healthy kids" as clients. "It's one reason we need health-care reform -- to get rid of this kind of weird disparity in pricing," Dugan said. </p>

California Consumer Advocate Slams Brown Over Taping Of Phone Calls

November 1, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Ties To Insurance Company Questioned</strong> </p> With the sudden announcement that San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom -- the rival to Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown for the Democratic nomination for Governor of California in 2010 -- was dropping out of the race, things might seem pretty smooth for the former governor. But Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog is taking Brown to task for changing the language of a ballot initiative designed to protect consumers from auto insurance hikes, allegedly at the behest of campaign donor Mercury Insurance.

For Those Denied Insurance Because Of Pre-existing Conditions, Health Reform Would Bring Major Change

October 31, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

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AG’s office secretly taped conversation with reporter on Mercury initiative

October 31, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

I can't believe this! Two days ago, I told you about how Attorney General Jerry Brown rewrote the official summary of a ballot measure sponsored by Mercury Insurance Company to omit the fact that it will raise auto insurance premiums. This morning The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Brown's spokesman secretly taped a conversation with reporter Carla Marinucci in an effort to keep a story about Brown's action out of the newspaper.

Brown Under Fire For ‘Gift’ To Mercury Insurance

October 30, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> SACRAMENTO, CA — Attorney General Jerry Brown is facing accusations that he cleared the way for a ballot measure summary that was favorable to an insurance company that has contributed to his campaign coffers. "If it was an insurance company trying to get us to ask them to raise their rates, this is exactly what they'd want," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog and author of the 1988 voter-approved Proposition 103, the measure that restricts the insurance industry's ability to raise rates. "It's a massive gift to Mercury. The attorney general needs to explain why this changed and why it's no longer important to tell the public about the consequences of this initiative." Rosenfield has filed a Public Records Act request to gain access to all communications between the attorney general's office and Mercury. Meanwhile, the attorney general's office admitted that it recorded the conversations with journalists inquiring about the ballot measure issue.<br /> </p>

Jerry Brown’s Office Taped Reporters’ Calls

October 30, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown acknowledged Thursday that he taped a phone conversation with a reporter for The Chronicle this week without disclosing the fact or asking permission - and admitted he has taped conversations with other news reporters. Scott Gerber, spokesman for Brown's office, made the admission after the publication of a story in the newspaper that detailed consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield's criticisms of revisions the attorney general made to the summary of a ballot measure that deals with car insurance rates. <br />

Jerry Brown Accused Of Caving In To Donor

October 30, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A leading California consumer advocate charged Wednesday that Attorney General Jerry Brown caved to pressure from a powerful insurance company - and campaign donor - when he reworked the summary of a ballot measure to omit mention that it could boost premiums for thousands of drivers. Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog.org of Santa Monica and author of Proposition 103, the landmark measure protecting insurance consumers that voters approved in 1988, said Brown's office engaged in "shameful" behavior by rewriting the measure, which was backed by Mercury General.

Shame on Jerry Brown

October 28, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Our Attorney General is charged with telling the truth when he prepares the official title and summary for proposed ballot initiatives. Jerry Brown did that two months ago when, in accordance with previous legal rulings, he described a measure backed by Mercury Insurance as allowing insurers to raise or lower premiums based on whether a driver had a lapse in insurance coverage.

More Details On Federal Insurance Office Legislation

October 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="BodyCopy"> "We are at a loss to understand why you have proposed a measure to deregulate the insurance industry by preempting state laws as part of the financial re-regulation package," Consumer Watchdog officials said. "Each version of the bill would restrict the ability of state lawmakers and regulators to protect insurance consumers by granting the Treasury Department and a new Federal Insurance Office the authority to preempt state laws and regulations on prudential matters on behalf of foreign insurance firms. This proposal is even more perplexing in light of the strong fight, on the part of both the administration and majority members of the Financial Services Committee, to preserve states’ ability to protect their citizens during the debate over the Consumer Financial Protection Agency," the letter continued. </p> <span></span>

Auto Insurance Ballot Measure Revs Up

October 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The Secretary of State’s <a href="http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1318927&view=late1">campaign finance database shows</a> insurance giant Mercury General Corp. on Friday put $1 million into Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates, the campaign committee it set up to back “The Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act” for next year’s ballot. This doubles the company’s total previous contributions, made in June and September. Today, the committee announced the state Attorney General’s office has released the measure’s title and summary, and gathering of petition signatures has begun; it needs 433,971 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, so the committee will seek about 700,000. Consumer Watchdog executive director Doug Heller says Mercury does not have your best interests at heart in pushing this ballot measure.

Rental Industry Hopes To Buy Influence On Hill

October 26, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Mark Reback, spokesman for Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, said while the bills appear to be calling for the regulation of the rent-to-own industry, they actually are aimed at "sidestepping" strict state consumer-protection laws already in place. "What they're trying to do is to get around stricter consumer laws that now exist in several states," Mr. Reback said. "The goal is to get a more corporate-friendly federal standard to cover them nationwide, which will help them make more money and lower the restrictions."

Democrats Lead The Way In Killing ‘Job Killer’ Bills

October 26, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> SACRAMENTO, CA -- In his six years in office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has played the predictable Republican role of gatekeeper on legislation he deems to be anti-business, vetoing more than 90 percent of bills that the state's Chamber of Commerce calls "job killers". "It reflects the chamber's sway," said Doug Heller, an analyst for Consumer Watchdog, which tracks the relationship between corporate donors and politicians. "The Chamber of Commerce has become quite active in working the Democratic side. So, liberal Democrats can't get their bills past their own Democrats. There are several committees run by business Democrats that have been able to bottleneck anything that might make it onto the job-killer list." </p>