Trade Group Poses Health Plan — Members’ Insurance Could Cost Less-but Skirt States’ Oversight
<p class="source">Wall Street Journal</p>
Insurance
Insurance news, investigations, and reform — auto, home, and health insurance rates, claims denials, and industry accountability.
Justices Probing Legality of Edison, PUC Deal;
<h3>The state high court will decide whether the settlement broke the open meeting laws and if customers should be repaid $3.6 billion.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>A lawyer for Edison warned the justices of "adverse implications" and uncertainty if the settlement is torn apart. But consumer groups say killing the settlement could translate into refunds of $850 per customer.</p>
Woman caught in ‘use it and lose it’ insurance issue
<p class="source">North County Times (San Diego, CA)</p>
<p>"What you've got here is sort of the heart of the big insurance fraud that Americans have been seeing over the past two years," said Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Los Angeles.</p>
State bill would ban credit scoring to set premiums
<p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has cracked down on the use of credit scoring by one insurance company that writes homeowner policies in the state.</p>
West Coast answer is seen as model malpractice system
<p class="source">Philadelphia Inquirer</p>
<p>Consumer advocates and trial lawyers say MICRA is less effective than insurance changes passed in 1988 under Proposition 103, a ballot initiative that requires insurers to justify premium increases.</p>
Mercury Insurance: “Pay to Win” Politics
<!-- excerpt --><p>After losing legal and regulatory battles, Mercury has responded as it best knows how: by throwing money at politicians.</p>
Too many claims may cause insurance cancellation
<p class="source">Associated Press</p>
<p>Doug Heller, with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica, California-based advocacy group, said a central insurance database codes inquiries as damage claims.</p>
Storm insurance claims could threaten coverage
<p class="source">Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)</p>
<p>"In this moment, consumers must be protected and must be allowed to use their insurance policy without fear of losing it," said Doug Heller, a senior consumer advocate at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>
Insurance limit advances;
<h3>MEASURE BANS HOME POLICY BASED ON CREDIT HISTORY</h3><p class="source">San Jose Mercury News</p>
<p>Consumer advocates supported the bill, arguing that insurers should not be able to tie homeowners' financial histories to their insurance risk. They said using credit reports to help write policies is especially harmful to poor and minority homeowners</p>
Health Care as a Winner
<p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>The Democratic presidential candidates have figured out that universal health care is now a winning hand. They just have to figure out how to play it.</p>
TO SOLVE MALPRACTICE-INSURANCE CRISIS, ROLL BACK RATES, NOT RIGHTS
<p class="source">Orlando Sentinel (Florida)</p>
<p>Backers, including Gov. Jeb Bush, insist caps will lower insurance premiums. But the experience in California shows that the only way to cut premiums is to regulate insurance company profits and expenses.</p>
Plan to require state approval for increases in trouble
<p class="source">Associated Press</p>
<p>"This bill is really designed for the self-employed people, small business employers and retirees who don't have health benefits. They don't have the same huge market leverage that really large employers do," said Jerry Flanagan with FTCR.</p>