Insurance

Consumer Group Criticizes California Auto Insurance Claim Bill

July 23, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog said the proposal would undo a current California law prohibiting insurance companies from pushing, or "steering," customers to auto body shops under contract with the insurer. AB 1200 "effectively guts the prohibition on steering and now allows insurers to 'hard sell' a policyholder on the insurer-controlled repair shop, even after the policyholder chooses an independent repair shop," the group said.

Bitter Medicine: Health Care Reform Groups Fear The Cure May Be Worse Than The Disease

July 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

"We're digging through them now. We support a bill that has a true public option, and the House bill has that," said Consumer Watchdog's Jerry Flanagan. "But we really dislike the individual mandate [to purchase health insurance]. The insurance companies really don't want the public option, but they really want the mandate."

CA Insurance Officals Target “Use It And Lose It”

July 20, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Jerry Flanagan of with Consumer Watchdog said with the insurance companies, "What they've been doing is selling to everybody, then waiting until someone gets sick the wait and see approach and on those folks who get really, really sick its at that point they look at the application and make the determination that they should have never sold coverage in the first place."

FPPC should axe Arnold’s illegal budget ads

July 16, 2009  ·  Mark Reback

<p> We sent a letter of complaint Wednesday to the FPPC alerting them that the gov has improperly used funds from his California "Dream Team" committee, which is set up to advocate for ballot measures, to pay for statewide TV ads touting his position on the budget crisis, and the ads have nothing to do with any ballot measure, past, present or future. </p>

(More) hard insurance lessons from Massachusetts

July 15, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Massachusetts is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/us/15insure.html?_r=1">dropping legal, green-carded immigrants</a> from its subsidies for health insurance and will probably make it harder for poor citizens to get coverage. Small businesses are being <a href="http://www.wbur.org/2009/07/15/health-cost">slammed with insurance premium increases over 20%.</a> Insurance companies say they can't help unless they're allowed to sell brutally bare-bones "cheap" policies that would actually be more profitable. Why isn't Washington paying more critical attention to Massachusetts? </p> <p>   </p>

California ‘Pay-As-You-Drive’ Regulations Approach the Starting Line

July 13, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Advocacy group Consumer Watchdog approves of the prohibition on location data, but staff advocate Carmen Balber said it does not go nearly far enough to protect consumers' privacy. She said the proposed regulations open the door to electronic devices that gather additional data on hours the vehicle is driven, how the vehicle is driven and more that California bars from being used in rate-making.

As GM owners, we need to look to our declaration

July 8, 2009  ·  Jamie Court

<p> I never thought I would own GM, or even a piece of it, when I was an eight year old kid playing in my dad's parked, sky blue Oldsmobile Cutlass. But all of us Americans are inches from owning the new GM with a bankruptcy court ruling...</p>

Mercury General Using Guise Of Benevolence To Assault Prop. 103

July 2, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> ...one should wonder why Mercury, which is already one of the leading insurers in the state, would spend heavily to make its home market more competitive. I'm inclined to think the company has something else on its mind, and I'd bet that giving customers a break isn't it. Forewarned is forearmed: Hang on to your wallets. </p>

Is Congress deaf? Or does insurers’ money just speak louder?

June 29, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Congress is taking a holiday week off, heading home to wave flags and eat hot dogs. Some listening is in order, too. The <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/19/opinion/polls/main5098517.shtml">latest national poll</a> tells us that a whopping 70-plus percent of Americans want a health reform choice that lets them snub the giant insurance conglomerates that miserably abuse their customers. </p>

‘Pay-As-You-Drive’ Auto Policies Could Become Option By Year’s End

June 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica advocacy group, complained that Poizner's proposal would give insurance companies too much leeway to decide whether or not to offer a pay-as-you-drive option to potential customers. He said he feared that the regulations would allow companies to offer smaller discounts than they should for people who cut their driving by only modest amounts.

Treasury, GM Close to Reaching Deal on Legal Claims — Accident Victims, Dealers at Issue

June 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> "It's hard for me to comprehend why, when taxpayers are funding so much of the transition, and we're making specific choices about who gets money, that there's no money for these accident victims," said Douglas Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog. He expressed outrage that GM is requesting court approval to pay more than $100 million to its financial advisers, Evercore Partners, a New York boutique investment bank headed by former deputy Treasury secretary Roger Altman, and AlixPartners, a turnaround consultancy. </p>

My View: HB 1171 Is Simply A Gift To Insurers

June 25, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> This My View was co-signed by Birny Birnbaum, executive director of the Center for Economic Justice; Douglas Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog; and Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders. </p> <p> In the strongest possible terms, we urge Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the home insurance deregulation bill, SB2036/HB1171. This bill is an invitation for insurers to game the Florida regulatory system and abuse consumers. </p>