Insurance

State Farm Abandons ZIP Code Rates Plan;

August 18, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Under pressure, the auto insurer agrees to comply with new pricing criteria and also will reduce fees.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>State Farm's decision to comply with the new rate-setting criteria means that most other auto insurers will be forced to follow suit if they want to be competitive, predicted Harvey Rosenfield, a Santa Monica consumer activist and the attorney who wrote Proposition 103. "I'm declaring victory after a 30-year battle to make insurance rates fairer," he said. "This is a matter of marketplace competition and economics. No insurance company can afford to defy Proposition 103 any longer."</p>

Lawmakers rake in end-of-session cash

August 17, 2006  ·  Doug Heller

<p class="source">Ventura County Star</p> <p>FTCR is promoting Proposition 89 on the Nov. 7 ballot, an initiative sponsored by the California Nurses Association that would create a system of voluntary public financing for campaigns for state offices. Under its terms, candidates who agreed to foreswear private contributions could qualify for public financing of their campaigns by first raising a threshold number of $5 contributions to prove their earnestness. </p>

REBELLING AGAINST REBATES: RED TAPE, RIP-OFFS SOUR SOME STORES ON CASH-BACK OFFERS

August 13, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)</p> <p>Groups like the nonprofit Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights have railed against rebate programs, saying some have become rip-offs. Many store advertisements, the group says, display the sales price in large letters while showing the "after rebate" tag in small letters. Sometimes customers leave with few or no instructions on how to claim the rebate, the group says.</p>

Auto insurers take hit on judge’s ruling

August 11, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Inside Bay Area (California)</p> <p>"The decision is a very, very powerful statement in support of Commissioner Garamendi's rules," said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "The old system is unfair."</p>

Second insurer OKs new rule on auto rates

August 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, called the insurance industry's claims groundless. "It's not all doom and gloom. These two companies are showing that you can sell insurance at good rates to good drivers and follow the law without the sky falling," he said.</p>

Insurance rate cuts? Here’s the lowdown;

August 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>New state measures would downplay ZIP Codes and focus on motorists' driving. Generally, that's good news for L.A., bad for Bishop.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Garamendi said the insurance industry's ZIP Code system defies logic -- what is a high-risk ZIP Code to one company is low-risk to another. Sometimes, ZIP Code ratings specifically burden minority neighborhoods, says Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica group that pushed hardest for the new policy.</p>

Angelides calls Schwarzenegger big-time pal of business

August 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Angelides said Schwarzenegger has gone from advocating reform to becoming one the biggest abusers of the campaign finance system. "This governor has raised over $100 million in special interest money," said Angelides. "He has done what no other governor has ever done in doing the bidding of big special interests." Angelides pointed out that none of the reforms Schwarzenegger talked about during the recall campaign has been adopted. </p>

Stronger than ‘Oaks’?

August 8, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Council set to debate initiative that aims to clarify campaign contribution law</h3><p class="source">The Santa Monica Daily Press</p> <p>"What the council proposal does is rewind time to pre-November 2000, before voters approved stronger rules. That's why we have such a problem with this," said Carmen Balber, a consumer advocate for the foundation, which is calling on the City Council to adopt standards similar to those proposed by the city of Pasadena, which she claims strengthens the Oaks Initiative. </p>

New insurance rules spur debate

July 31, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Bakersfield Californian</p> <p>"It's the law," Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said when asked why he pushed for the changes. "Good drivers should get the same rates for the same coverage no matter where they live." Harvey Rosenfield, the crusading president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and the author of Proposition 103, said, "It really is a testament to the greed and arrogance of the insurance industry that they have managed to delay this for 18 years,"</p>

Bush Vetoes Bill to Loosen Policy on Stem-Cell Research

July 28, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Chronicle of Higher Education</p> <p>In related news, two public-interest organizations last week mounted a legal challenge to patents on a technique for deriving human embryonic stem cells, claiming that the three patents, owned by a University of Wisconsin affiliate, are "overreaching" and should be revoked.</p>

Hecklers greet governor on 2nd day of campaign tour

July 26, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>When Schwarzenegger arrived in Glendale, Carmen Balber, who supports Proposition 89, which would limit campaign contributions and authorize public financing for state candidates, asked him to support the measure. "He wouldn't commit to it," she complained.</p>

Governor, Democratic rival unveil competing health care plans

July 25, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan with FTCR, noted that the conversation never touched on the record profits of insurance companies, whose representatives were among the panelists. He said advertising and salaries have become the fastest-growing component of health care costs outpacing even prescription drugs. "When they're at the table and the patients are not, the discussion is all about how we can make consumers use less rather than how we can make health care more affordable," Flanagan said.</p>