Insurance

Bill expands cheap car insurance plan;

September 17, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>SCHWARZENEGGER: If it's signed, low-income Inland drivers would be able to buy inexpensive coverage.</h3><p class="source">Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA)</p> <p>"For most low-income working people, not driving is not an option," said Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based group that supported the bill. "So long as we're going to require that people buy auto insurance, we have to come up with a way for folks to afford it."</p>

Angelides decries $315 million payout in planned merger

September 16, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, agreed. "It's ridiculous that executives who are supposed to be managing costs would walk away with a third of a billion dollars," he said. "The quickest way to cut health care costs would be to cut out the executive payouts like this."</p>

Bill aids uninsured, poor drivers

September 15, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Low-cost policies could be offered in Fresno Co.</h3><p class="source">Fresno Bee (California)</p> <p>"Under the law, you are obligated to have liability insurance to protect the person you might hurt," said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights, a sponsor of the legislation. "Now, they are protected in case you cause an accident."</p>

Rising Premiums Threaten Job-Based Health Coverage

September 15, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Health Insurance Costs Exceed Annual Minimum-Wage Earnings</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Consumer advocates question why premium increases are needed as insurance industry profits rise. "What the HMOs can't explain is why premiums are increasing twice as fast as hospital and physician costs," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica nonprofit.</p>

ADDING TO GRIEF, MOST LACK FLOOD INSURANCE

September 12, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Daily News (New York)</p> <p>Homeowner advocates such as Douglas Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights accused the insurance companies of "trying to wiggle out of their responsibility to their customers. Katrina survivors have paid premiums all these years in preparation for this disaster, only to find their insurance companies playing language games about whether or not to blame Katrina for the damage," Heller said.</p>

XXXtortion

September 12, 2005  ·  Jerry Flanagan

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">f someone had bought Monica Lewinsky's blue dress before Ken Starr got hold of it, how much leverage would they have had over the President of the United States? Would the GOP have issued...</font>

Woeful lack of insurance

September 11, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, says, "I'm not worried about the solvency of CEA. I'm much more worried about the lack of" homeowners with quake insurance.</p>

Will Homeowner’s Insurance Pay for Katrina Damage?

September 11, 2005  ·  Doug Heller

<h3>A consumer advocate warns that insurance companies may try to opt out of paying for Katrina damage.</h3><p class="source">CNN-TV "AMERICAN MORNING" SHOW</p> <p>DOUG HELLER (FTCR): Unfortunately, we're already hearing from many Katrina survivors who are being told that they're not going to have insurance coverage because, well, they didn't have the flood insurance. And they're all asking the same question: If I bought hurricane insurance, and in many cases paid thousands of dollars a year for it, and then Katrina ripped through my neighborhood and destroyed my home, why is my insurance company telling me they're going to deny my claim?</p>

Many Katrina flooded homes had no insurance

September 9, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">National Public Radio (NPR) - Morning Edition</p> <p>Mr. DOUGLAS HELLER (Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights): The insurance industry is going to bring out all kinds of engineers that say, 'Well, did the damage come from the top down or from the side?' and try to come up with the explanations of why this was the flood.</p>

Tens of thousands in Gulf Coast may be without flood insurance

September 4, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Knight Ridder Washington Bureau</p> <p>"It's truly outrageous that these companies would try to draw the line that way. The bean counters in the insurance industry should not be allowed to prevail," said Douglas Heller, the executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group that clashes frequently with the insurance industry.</p>

Fears of Economic Slowdown Grow

September 3, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Experts say further fuel price hikes could ignite inflation. Greenspan, under pressure to delay raising interest rates, meets with Bush.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group, urged Bush and Congress to impose price controls on oil and gas until the gulf crisis eases. Another group, the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, called on Bush "to warn oil companies against profiteering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."</p>

Allstate to Settle Overtime Claims;

September 2, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Insurer, which admits no wrongdoing, will pay as much as $120 million to California adjusters.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Allstate Corp. said Thursday that it would pay as much as $120 million to settle claims that some of its white-collar employees in California were routinely required to work long hours without overtime pay. The case is the latest in a series of class-action lawsuits putting pressure on California employers to revamp their white-collar pay policies. Previous settlements by RadioShack Corp., Bank of America Corp., Starbucks Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. highlighted the practice of classifying workers as managers or administrators to avoid paying overtime.</p>