Insurance

INSURANCE DEPT. REVAMPING TO BETTER HANDLE COMPLAINTS

January 1, 2001  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>EASIER GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES AND INCREASED STAFF ARE IN PLACE, BUT QUESTION REMAINS ABOUT IMPROVED SERVICE.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>After years of neglect, angry consumers are finally being heard at the state Department of Insurance.</p>

ZIP code OK in figuring insurance rate, court says

December 30, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Auto insurers can heavily weigh where a person lives in setting their insurance rates, a state appellate court said Friday in a decision that could mean differences of hundreds of dollars in yearly premiums.</p>

COURT SAYS INSURERS CAN USE ZIP CODES TO SET AUTO RATES

December 30, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>RULING SAYS WHERE A MOTORIST LIVES, NOT DRIVING RECORD, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN GAUGING RISK OF LOSS.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>A state appeal court Friday upheld the right of insurers to use ZIP Codes to set auto insurance rates in California--dealing a setback to consumer advocates' hopes of lowering rates for urban motorists.</p>

Auto insurers may use customer’s address to calculate premiums

December 30, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Associated Press</p> <p>A state appeals court ruled late Friday that auto insurers can calculate premiums based on where a customer lives, setting the stage for a potential California Supreme Court showdown.</p>

Ouster of PUC Official Sought — Attorney General Bill Lockyer approved the ‘quo warranto’ suit against PUC member Henry Duque.

December 29, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">San Francisco Daily Journal</p> <p>SAN FRANCISCO - A state public utilities commissioner should be ousted because he bought stock in a company he regulates, a government watchdog group claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday. In a rare quo warranto lawsuit targeting a state official, t</p>

EDISON SEEKS OK FOR 2 YEARS OF RATE HIKES

December 29, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>THE COMPANY'S PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW INCREASES EVERY SIX MONTHS. THE CUMULATIVE BOOST COULD BE AS HIGH AS 76%</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>In addition to demanding an immediate 30% increase in electricity rates, Southern California Edison is asking the state Public Utilities Commission for the right to continue raising bills for the next two years, officials said Thursday.</p>

Energy Crisis Is Forcing Davis Into a Balancing Act

December 22, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Gov. Gray Davis has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions from some of the very same energy companies he now says are gouging California consumers.</p>

California’s two largest utilities could lose credit rating on Wall St.

December 22, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">San Jose Mercury News</p> <p>SAN JOSE, Calif._Intensifying pressure on state officials, a leading Wall Street rating firm said it will drastically lower the credit status of California's two largest electric utilities unless the state approves a consumer rate increase this week.</p>

Few taking advantage of new low-cost auto insurance program

November 30, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Associated Press</p> <p>Five months after California launched its landmark program to provide auto insurance to low-income drivers, hardly anyone is taking advantage of it - and state officials want to know why.</p>

Consumer Activist Pushes Ballot Initiative To Undo California-Power Deregulation

November 29, 2000  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p class="source">The Wall Street Journal</p> <p>LOS ANGELES -- Harvey Rosenfield, a consumer activist who has made a career of tapping public anger at corporate interests, is drafting a ballot initiative aimed at reversing electricity deregulation in California.</p>

Activist targets utilities for ballot measure

November 29, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>The proposal in the works for the 2002 election would restore regulation of privately owned power firms.</h3><p class="source">Riverside Press-Enterprise</p> <p>SACRAMENTO Depicting producers and distributors of electricity as a menace to California's prosperity, a consumer activist vowed Tuesday to organize a ratepayers' revolt in the next statewide general election.</p>

State Supreme Court declines to consider Northridge claims suit

November 29, 2000  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Associated Press</p> <p>The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to consider the insurance industry's challenge to a new state law that gives thousands of Northridge earthquake victims a year to refile their claims.</p>