Insurance

Healthcare Insurance Hell: If At First Your Claim Is Denied, Try, Try Again

January 13, 2017  ·  Mark Reback

<p>One focus of the planned repeal of Obamacare is maintaining coverage for people with preexisting conditions. Republican lawmakers say the current law’s safeguards won’t change, but they have yet to explain how they’ll accomplish this without also keeping the mandate that everyone buy insurance.</p>

DWP Bill of Rights Fit for Russian Gulag, Says Consumer Advocate

January 5, 2017  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Notwithstanding the fact that DWP kept the lights on in Los Angeles while Enron left the rest of the state in the dark back in 2000, there are a number of people who believe the city-owned utility sucks big time and is in dire need of a major overhaul. Among them is Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court, who says Angelenos are no better off that Soviet-era political prisoners once were when it comes to getting straight answers about a bill.</p>

2016 In Review: Wells Fargo, PG&E, Exploding Phones Draw Ire Of Consumers

December 29, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A banking scandal, exploding phones and the ongoing roller coaster of PG&E rate changes were among the top stories raising the ire of consumers this years.</p>

Judge Orders State Farm To Cut Rates

December 20, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>State Farm customers in California could soon be paying lower premiums for homeowner, condo and renter insurance but will have to wait for the outcome of a lawsuit to know whether they will also get refunds from the company.</p> <p><br /> A judge ruled late Friday that State Farm must abide by a state order to cut its premiums but can hold off on repaying customers, allegedly for overcharging, as it challenges Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones' authority to demand refunds under landmark insurance law Proposition 103.</p>

Google The ‘Serial Abuser’ Faces Federal Complaint Over User ‘Super Profiles’

December 19, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Two consumer groups have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Google broke the law by deceptively forcing a privacy-policy change onto users that allows the firm to build much more comprehensive files on individuals.</p> <p>Consumer Watchdog, a prominent Google <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/15/google-asks-senate-committee-for-fast-tracked-rules-on-self-driving-cars/">adversary </a>on self-driving cars, joined Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in filing the FTC complaint on Monday.</p>

State Farm Ordered To Cut Homeowners Insurance Rates In California

December 19, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>State Farm Insurance must reduce rates by an average of 7 percent for 1.7 million homeowners and renters in California while it challenges Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones' findings that its rates were excessive, a judge ruled Monday.</p>

Aggressive Sales Goals Pressure T-Mobile Workers To Sell Unwanted Services, Labor Group Alleges

December 16, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>T-Mobile employees under pressure to meet sales goals are sometimes driven to mislead customers or to enroll them in services they didn’t ask for, alleges <a href="http://callingouttmobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Under.Pressure_Dec2016.pdf">a report from a labor coalition</a>.</p> <p>In a complaint that Change to Win said they filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday, the labor group claimed that T-Mobile sets “unrealistic sales targets” that encourage workers to act in ways that may not benefit consumers.</p>

Consumer Watchdog Opposes Delay in $256 Million in Refunds and Rate Savings for State Farm Customers

December 15, 2016  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-21092" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/images_statefarmlogo-1_0.png" style="width: 200px; height: 155px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="1200" height="927" />Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog will be in court tomorrow to oppose a request by State Farm, California’s largest insurance company, to postpone refunds of more than $100 million in overcharges on home, condo and renters insurance, and delay a 7% rate cut that would save customers $156 million per year (including the savings from denying the 6.9% rate increase sought by State Farm).

Judge To Weigh In On Insurer Refunds

December 9, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A request by State Farm to block an order requiring it to issue more than $100 million in premium refunds will be considered next week in San Diego County Superior Court.</p> <p><br /> California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, citing authority of the state's landmark Proposition 103, ordered the Bloomington, Ill., insurer in November to issue the refunds and lower its homeowner and rental insurance rates.</p>

State Farm Files Lawsuit To Block Historic Rollback in Insurance Rates

December 7, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Last month, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones ordered more than $100 million in refunds for nearly 2 million State Farm policy owners, alleging the company charged excessive rates for its homeowners and renters insurance.</p> <p style="">It apparently was the first such refund approved since California’s landmark Proposition 103 rolled back a wide swath of insurance rates nearly three decades ago, marking a significant win for consumer groups.</p>

NHTSA Needs Enforceable Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Robot Cars

November 23, 2016  ·  John M. Simpson

<p>The National Highway Safety Administration has apparently bought into the hype from robot car manufacturers<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2951" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/images_nhtsa_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 76px; float: right; margin: 3px;" width="525" height="200" /> and has failed to take necessary steps to protect the nation’s highways.</p>

Plaintiffs Suing Over Anthem Blue Cross Of California Cuts Denied TRO

November 16, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>(Reuters) - The plaintiff in a proposed class action accusing Anthem Blue Cross of California of engaging in a "bait and switch" by telling its individual customers that it will renew their health insurance plans for next year while actually slashing benefits has lost a motion for a temporary restraining order.</p>