Insurance

Head-scratching in Europe over U.S. health reform mess

September 4, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> I just got off the phone with a well-informed Dutch reporter based in Washington, D.C. His monumental assignment was, in part, to explain to a puzzled Dutch audience how such U.S. health reform became infected with so much fear, anger and distrust. And why, he asked, do fearmongers have so much power against serious analysts and policy makers? A hard question to answer. </p>

A Warning SIgn That Isn’t Ignored: L.A. Billboard Attacking Mercury Insurance Is Removed

September 4, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<div class="byline"> <span class="toolSet" style="width: 332px;"><strong>Consumer Watchdog's billboard catches the eye of target Mercury Insurance, which gets the ad taken down. </strong> </span></div> <div class="byline"> <span class="toolSet" style="width: 332px;">  </span></div> <div class="byline">

Answers On IOUs And Quake Insurance

September 4, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, says he is not worried about the CEA's ability to pay claims or its independence from the state's general fund. "What would concern me is how many of my neighbors don't have earthquake insurance," he says. "If I can afford to rebuild my house but four out of five neighbors can't, what will happen to the neighborhood?" Even if property values fall, Heller says it is worth buying insurance to have a place to live.

Nullifying Anti-Steering Law A “Hard Sell”

September 1, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer advocates are concerned about a bill that could ostensibly undo a current Calif. law preventing insurers from "steering" customers to auto body shops under contract with the insurer.  Calif. Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) is spearheading the proposal -- AB 1200 -- which would allow insurers to present reasons as to why customers should use "preferred" body shops at any time during the claim process.  This would represent an obvious departure from the anti-steering law enacted in 2003 (SB 551 -- Speier), which specifically prohibits insurance companies from dictating that customers get cars repaired at certain establishments.

Medicare private plan marketing’s a miracle–for insurer profits

September 1, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> I was surprised to find out recently that nearly one-fourth of Medicare patients are enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans, which are offered by the big health insurance companies that we know and don't love. Enrollent is growing by the millions each year. But why, since these plans <a href="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/12/11/insurer-profit-ma/">don't provide better health outcomes</a>, cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars more than regular Medicare and can <a href="http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/August/31/Medicare-Advantage.aspx">restrict coverage</a> more tightly than regular Medicare? The answer came from my mailbox--a flood of costly, glossy, taxpayer-funded marketing by private insurers. </p>

Whoops! Mercury Insurance screwed up their own initiative

September 1, 2009  ·  Doug Heller

<p> According to word on the street, Mercury Insurance has had to throw away the signatures they've been paying for for the last week or so.  Apparently, they mixed up the initiative that the Attorney General reviewed for circulation...</p>

California Homeowners Facing Insurance Rate Hikes

September 1, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>In a state parched by a three-year drought, wildfires are at least partly to blame for the price increases, industry officials and even some consumer advocates agree. </strong> <p> The dramatic images of firestorms now sweeping through the San Gabriel Mountains produce fear and dread "but don't make for any actuarial implication," said Douglas Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica group. "We're talking about not even 1% of homes." </p>

Retailers Sense New Thriftiness In Aisles — Year-Over-Year Sales At Stores Show Frugality Of Consumers

August 31, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the California-based group Consumer Watchdog, puts much of the blame for the current economic situation on credit-card companies that offered easy access to credit, then raised fees, interest rates and, in some cases, minimum payments when the economy soured. </p>

Clarity peeks out in health reform

August 27, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> The media slam against Congress and President Obama has been that supporters of health reform don't make a clear, simple argument for what it is and why we need it. Opponents' smear-and-fear campaign grabs the headlines. I've had the same complaint about the mainstream media itself--too much dwelling on politics and little substance. A guy named <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=28627">Wendell Potter</a> is helping change that, most recently in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion">Nicholas Kristof's column</a> in the New York Times. </p>

Auto Body Repair Plan Touches Capitol Nerve

August 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog, which opposes the bill, said the language of the legislation doesn’t do what insurers contend. “It’s anti-steering bill that would permit steering,” said Consumer watchdog attorney Todd Foreman. “It specifically states that an insurer can provide information about services. That’s what steering is. It essentially guts the consumer protections in Speier’s bill regarding steering and when a company can’t steer.”  The collision repair industry agrees, and believes the bill hurts the consumer by allowing insurers to selectively push customers to shops that have dubious, cost-cutting contracts with some carriers.

Watchdog: Auto Insurance Law May Up Rates

August 25, 2009  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<strong>Insurance Company Sponsors Initiative </strong><br /> <br /> The Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act may sound appealing, but the consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog told 10 News that potential voters should not be fooled, calling the measure 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 and author of Proposition 103, which overhauled the insurance market in 1988.

Mercury Insurance’s History of Legislative Attacks on Consumer Protections in California

August 24, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Ever since California voters enacted the landmark insurance reform initiative Proposition 103 in 1988, Mercury Insurance has led a series of efforts to remove its consumer protections. </p>