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Insurance news, investigations, and reform — auto, home, and health insurance rates, claims denials, and industry accountability.
Dolores Huerta Speaks Out: California’s Proposition 33 Legalizes Insurance Discrimination

Dolores Huerta Speaks Out: California’s Proposition 33 Legalizes Insurance Discrimination

<p><i><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2502" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/images_dolores-sqa.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; float: right;" width="175" height="175" /></i>Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta issued the following statement today about California's Proposition 33 on the Nov. 6th ballot:</p> <p>"Proposition 33 would return us to an era when discrimination in insurance was commonplace. If billionaire George Joseph gets his way, millions of Californians would pay higher auto insurance premiums. Mr. Joseph owns Mercury Insurance. He has donated $16.4 million to Prop 33.</p>
Op-Ed – Jamie Court: No On Prop. 33

Op-Ed – Jamie Court: No On Prop. 33

<p><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/insurance-376024-prop-one.html">Click here to view the original Op-Ed commentary</a>.</p> <p>Answer just one question, and you'll know how you should vote on Proposition 33: Should you pay more for your car insurance if you stopped driving for a time because you couldn't afford a car, didn't own one or lived for awhile in a city where you didn't need one?</p> <p>The insurance billionaire behind Prop 33 has spent $16 million to trick you into answering yes. Don't be fooled.</p>
California Propositions: Prop. 33

California Propositions: Prop. 33

<p><a href="http://blogs.kcrw.com/whichwayla/2012/10/prop-33/">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment</a>.</p> <p>If Proposition 33 sounds familiar, it should. The measure is almost identical to a statewide proposition that was narrowly defeated two years ago. And just as in 2010, the Yes campaign is funded almost entirely by George Joseph, the founder and chairman of Mercury Insurance.</p>
Suit Accuses Auto Club Of Violating Law

Suit Accuses Auto Club Of Violating Law

<p><strong>Ex-employee says firm penalizes workers for signing up previously uninsured drivers.</strong><br /> <br /> A former insurance agent at the Auto Club of Southern California has sued the company, accusing it of violating state law by penalizing agents for selling policies to previously uninsured consumers, four years after the company settled similar allegations.<br /> <br /> California law bans auto insurers from discriminating against drivers based on their lack of previous coverage and using that as a factor in setting premiums.<br /> <br />
AAA Sued Over Alleged Discrimination, Commission Scheme

AAA Sued Over Alleged Discrimination, Commission Scheme

<p><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=8860812">Click here to view the TV news segment</a>.</p> <p><span class="storyDateline">LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- </span> AAA is being sued after an ex-agent claimed the Auto Club discriminates against potential customers using a commission scheme.</p>
Editorial: Propositions A Mix of Good, Bad

Editorial: Propositions A Mix of Good, Bad

<p><a href="http://www.chicoer.com/editorials/ci_21842211/editorial-propositions-mix-good-bad">Click here to read the original editorial</a>.</p> <p>Our view: When in doubt on propositions, vote no, but a handful of measures on the Nov. 6 ballot bring needed changes.</p> <p>The state's initiative process is empowering for regular citizens, but it's fairly easy to get poorly worded propositions on the ballot, as we see every election cycle.</p>
Prop. 33 Is Billionaire’s Attempt To Manipulate Public Policy

Prop. 33 Is Billionaire’s Attempt To Manipulate Public Policy

<p><b>George Joseph, founder of Mercury General Group, is virtually the sole bankroller of Prop. 33, which he sees as a tool for poaching customers from competitors.</b></p> <p>George Joseph must think that the old saw defining insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result doesn't apply to him — or at least that it's amenable to tweaking.</p>
Prop 33 Legalizes Discriminatory Insurance Pricing

Prop 33 Legalizes Discriminatory Insurance Pricing

<p>Jamie Court takes on the Prop 33 PR machine to debate how it will raise rates for good drivers and roll back a 24-year-old civil rights protection that prevents insurance companies from discriminating against new drivers and Californians who choose to stop driving for a time .</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/resources/jamie_patthurstonshow102012_prop33.mp3">Listen to the show here.</a></p>
EDITORIAL: Don’t Let Prop 33 Fool You

EDITORIAL: Don’t Let Prop 33 Fool You

<p><a href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121018/A_OPINION01/210180312/-1/A_OPINION">Click here to read the original editorial from the Stockton Record</a>.</p> <p><em><strong>Measure would most likely raise rates on auto insurance for everyone</strong></em></p> <p>A red flag should go up when one person, group or company is the sole sponsor and sole underwriter of a ballot measure.</p> <p>That's what we've got with Proposition 33, a measure on the Nov. 6 ballot that we urge voters to reject.</p>
EDITORIAL: Throw Away This Lemon

EDITORIAL: Throw Away This Lemon

<p><a href="http://www.newsreview.com/chico/throw-away-this-lemon/content?oid=8118261">Click here to read the origial editorial from the Chico News-Review</a>.</p> <p><strong>Proposition 33 is just a retread of an earlier loser, 2010’s Proposition 17</strong></p>