Insurance

Consumer Watchdog Calls on Insurance Commissioner Lara To Issue Refund Rules In Response to CA Supreme Court

February 16, 2022  ·  Pam Pressley

Los Angeles, CA — The California Supreme Court has refused to review a lower court ruling that stripped the Insurance Commissioner of critical powers granted...

Department of Insurance Changes Course on Email Deletion Policy that Threatened Records of Pay-to-Play Scandal Days After Consumer Watchdog Threatened to Go to Court

January 31, 2022  ·  Jerry Flanagan

The Department of Insurance pulled back a policy to delete agency email databases days after Consumer Watchdog warned it would go to court to stop...

New Evidence Reveals That Commissioner Lara and Top Staff Hid Communications About Meetings With Workers’ Compensation Insurer At Heart of Pay-to-Play Scandal

January 18, 2022  ·  Jerry Flanagan

Los Angeles, CA – Despite attempting to conceal it, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and top lieutenant Bryant Henley communicated with two former lawmakers representing a workers’...

Consumer Watchdog Calls on Federal Insurance Office to Expose Financial, Climate Risks of Insurance Industry’s Fossil Fuel Underwriting After California Fails to Act

November 16, 2021  ·  Carmen Balber

Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog joined 39 other public interest organizations in comments calling on the Federal Insurance Office to spotlight how the insurance industry...

Proposed Regulation to Require Discounts for Wildfire Mitigation Measures Must Also Regulate Scores Secretly Used to Deny Home Insurance, Consumer Groups Urge Insurance Commissioner

November 10, 2021  ·  Pam Pressley

Los Angeles, CA – Consumer groups said a regulation proposed by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to require discounts for homeowners who take home-hardening steps to...

Insurance Commissioner Cannot Force State Farm to Pay Refunds for Overcharges, San Diego Court Says

November 2, 2021  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

San Diego, CA – The Insurance Commissioner cannot force insurance companies to repay consumers when they charge excessive rates, the state Court of Appeal in San...

Insurance Companies Overcharged Californians by $Billions During the Pandemic – Here’s How to Get it Back

July 30, 2021  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Los Angeles, CA – Insurance companies have overcharged Californians by billions of dollars since the COVID-19 lockdowns began in March 2020, sixteen months ago. Today,...

Lara Defies Transparency: Refuses To Confirm Or Deny Whether He Or Department Met With Nunez, Serna and Other Known Applied Underwriters Lobbyists In PRA Litigation

July 22, 2021  ·  Jamie Court

Los Angeles, CA — In responses to requests for admissions in pending litigation, Insurance Commissioner Lara’s Department has refused to answer straightforward questions about meetings...

Public Records Act Lawsuit Tests Ricardo Lara’s Pledge Of Transparency

July 6, 2021  ·  Jerry Flanagan

Los Angeles, CA — Despite his pledge for “transparency” in the wake of a scandal involving a workers’ compensation insurer, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has refused...

Auto Insurance Companies Overcharged California Motorists $5.5 Billion During the First Year of Pandemic, Study Shows

June 29, 2021  ·  Carmen Balber

Los Angeles, CA — While the vast majority of Californians drove far less last year, most California insurance companies continued to charge pre-pandemic auto insurance...

California Insurance Commissioner’s Wildfire Working Group Embraces Insurance Industry Wish List at Expense of Consumers and Taxpayers

June 7, 2021  ·  Carmen Balber

Los Angeles, CA — A group convened by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to investigate insurance-related climate change solutions is recommending he let insurance companies insert secret...

California Moves to Curb Discriminatory Auto Insurance Pricing Using Job and Education Level That Charges Lower-Income, Non-White Drivers More

March 23, 2021  ·  Carmen Balber

Sacramento, CA – Insurance companies’ illegal use of job and education level to price auto insurance discriminates against lower income drivers and communities of color and...