Insurance

State Orders Allstate to Lower Auto Rates

March 18, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Allstate Insurance auto insurance policyholders could see their yearly premiums cut by an average of $133 a year per vehicle as a result of a ruling from the state Department of Insurance requiring the company to lower its rates next month. ...

Health Care Quake Looms for 2010 Ballot

March 14, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<div class="mainarticle"> When a Senate committee killed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ambitious health care proposal, it was the culmination of months of debate, hearings and political arm-twisting in a myriad of backroom meetings...</div>

AAA to Issue Refunds to Settle Suit Over New Policy Surcharges

March 14, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Refunds averaging $187 are in store for 120,000 policyholders of the Automobile Club of Southern California who were charged higher rates on new policies from 1999 to 2004 because they could not prove that they were previously insured.<br/> <br/>...

Lawyers for Farmers Insurance defend overcharges in the Court of Appeal

March 13, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-556" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/farmerslogo_2.gif" style="width: 120px; height: 90px; " width="120" height="90" />I spent the morning down at the Court of Appeal in Los Angeles listening to lawyers for Farmers Insurance try to convince the justices that California voters did not mean what they said when they passed insurance reform Proposition 103.<br /> <br />

University Retains Patents Of All Human Embryonic Stem Cells

March 13, 2008  ·  John M. Simpson

<p> <font>Key patents giving ownership of all human embryonic stem cells to the University of Wisconsin have been upheld by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.<br/> <br/> A San Diego scientist and two taxpayer groups that...</font> </p>

Regulated Health Insurance Initiative on 2010 Ballot?

March 13, 2008  ·  Jamie Court

<p> The original posting of this blog can be read on the Calitics website by <a href="http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=2703E337C7A6F4FD9E6A3D045C27186E?diaryId=5320">clicking here</a>. </p> <p> It looks as if the...</p>

Pay first, ask questions later

March 12, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> My doctor’s office made a new, and pretty scary, request this morning. It was a routine visit, and when I paid my co-pay (and an odd 55 cent balance left over from last time) they gave me another form to sign. It informed me that,...</p>

Insurers lose lawsuit aimed at blocking challenges to excessive rates

March 12, 2008  ·  Pam Pressley

<p> A Los Angeles Superior Court ruled against the insurance industry last Friday in a lawsuit insurers filed against the California Department of Insurance.  Consumer Watchdog's litigation director Pam Pressley, working with the...</p>

Bill would outlaw insurer discrimination by race, age and background

March 11, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

The state Senate <a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080311/news_1b11workers.html">passed legislation yesterday</a> - SB 1115 - to roll back one of the more odious limits.

Calif. Court Upholds Rules on Insurers Repaying Advocates

March 10, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> LOS ANGELES, CA -- California insurance companies must comply with state regulations requiring them to pay the legal and expert fees of consumers or groups that challenge a proposed rate change if the challenge impacts the end result,...</p>

Judge Upholds Insurance Commissioner’s Awarding of Fees to Advocacy Groups

March 7, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<div class="postDetail"> LOS ANGELES, CA -- Rejecting a challenge by insurance groups, a Los Angeles judge ruled today that the state insurance commissioner can continue awarding compensation to members of consumer groups who take part...</div>

Not Always As Green As They Claim

March 6, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Companies, Governments Accused of Exaggerating Eco-friendliness</strong> <p> As interest in green issues reaches a white-hot pitch, government and industry are jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, touting "natural,"...</p>