Insurance

Auto Insurance Discounts At Issue With Proposition 33

October 8, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>In the wake of the attacks on the American Consulate in Libya, Consumer Watchdog told the “Yes on Proposition 33” campaign to stop running misleading ads.</p> <p>Just after the anniversary of Sept. 11, the “Yes on Prop. 33” campaign ran ads promoting the auto insurance reforms in Proposition 33 as patriotic. The ads stated that the proposition will help the military by allowing by allowing active-duty personnel to keep their auto insurance discounts — even if they have gaps in their coverage while serving overseas.</p>

Mercury Insurance Chairman Dumps Another $8 Million Into Prop. 33

October 8, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO -- Insurance billionaire George Joseph has poured another $8 million into his self-funded campaign to pass Proposition 33, a change in California insurance law he's been trying to get for a dozen years.<br /> <br /> Joseph's latest contribution was posted on the secretary of state's website Monday. In all, he has given 99.5% of the $16.2 million that the Yes on 33 campaign has raised for the contest on the Nov. 6 California ballot.<br /> <br />

Mercury Insurance Executive Gives Another $8M To Promote Continuous-Coverage Ballot Initiative

October 8, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Billionaire insurance executive George Joseph has donated another $8 million to his November ballot initiative.<br /> <br /> The weekend contribution brings his total to $16 million in support of Proposition 33, which would let insurers charge drivers based on their history of maintaining coverage.<br /> <br /> Joseph on Monday said campaign officials had asked for another $10 million, but he made a slightly smaller donation because he thought "with 16 or so million, you ought to be able to run a pretty good campaign."<br /> <br />

Prop. 33: Insurance Discount Measure Stirs Controversy

October 8, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>For a decade now, Mercury Insurance founder George Joseph has been trying to get one big change made to California's landmark insurance law: a discount for customers who switch auto insurance carriers.</p> <p>Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a Mercury-backed bill in 2002. The voters rejected Mercury-backed Proposition 17 in June 2010 by 4 percentage points.</p> <p>Now Joseph has returned with Proposition 33, which would allow discounts for people who switch carriers without a lapse in coverage in the previous five years.</p>

Mercury Insurance Promotes Another Initiative To Boost Rates On Drivers Who Dropped Coverage

October 5, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Billionaire insurance executive George Joseph has been fighting with consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield for two decades over California's landmark automobile insurance law.<br /> <br /> This November, the two are squaring off again over a ballot initiative that would roll back a provision of the 1988 law and let insurance companies charge drivers based on their history of coverage.<br /> <br />

Health Insurance PACs Have Love-Hate Relationship With Health Care Reform

October 4, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden clearfix" itemprop="description"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item"> <p>The health insurance industry presented itself as a key ally of President Barack Obama’s health care law while at the same time making hefty contributions to members of Congress who are trying to get rid of it, according to contribution records.</p>

Yes On Prop. 33 Campaign Redefines ‘Volunteer’

October 3, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The sponsors of Proposition 33, a measure to allow auto insurers to charge higher or lower rates based on whether a driver had coverage in the previous five years, don't seem content just to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-proposition-33-distortions-begin-early-20120911,0,4098301.story">stretch the truth</a> about the nature of their measure (which The Times' editorial board <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-end-prop33-auto-insurance-discounts-20120920,0,657143.story">opposes</a>).

Extending Insurance Discounts

October 3, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Call it a rematch. Proposition 33 is Los Angeles insurance executive George Joseph's plan for liberalizing the rules on auto premiums.</p> <p>For years Joseph has been trying to extend "good-driver" discounts to more motorists, with no luck.</p> <p>In 2010 his company, Mercury Insurance Group, bankrolled an initiative similar to Proposition 33 but was defeated. What's wrong with more discounts?</p> <p>Critics say they create winners and losers. For every motorist who gets a discount, someone else pays more.</p>

Prop. 33 Asks Voters to Reconsider How Auto Insurance Discounts Work

October 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California voters are getting a chance to tweak the state’s car insurance rules when they consider the fate of <a href="http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/33-title-summ-analysis.pdf" target="_blank" title="http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/33-title-summ-analysis.pdf" rel="noopener">Proposition 33.</a> The November ballot item asks voters to change the way car insurance rates are calculated in California. The measure proposes tweaking current rules to allow companies to consider a driver’s insurance history when setting how much they will pay.</p>

No On Warmed-Over Prop. 33

September 26, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinion/ci_21639046/editorial-endorsement-no-warmed-over-prop-33">Click here to read the original editorial from the Santa Cruz Sential.</a></p> <p>Proposition 33 on the Nov. 6 ballot is a testament, or an indictment, of one auto insurance company's dogged pursuit of recruiting customers while charging more to Californians who are either buying policies for the first time or have let their coverage lapse.</p> <p>This measure closely resembles 2010's Proposition 17, which voters rejected.</p>

New survey: Americans don’t want insurance rates tied to prior insurance coverage

September 24, 2012  ·  Doug Heller

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2279" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/images_dougdrawingname.gif" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />The Consumer Federation of America released a <a href="http://consumerfed.org/news/599">new report today</a> assessing consumer views on the factors insurance companies use to set premiums around the country.  Not surprisingly, Americans think that insurance rates should be based primarily on motorists' driving safety record (87% and 85% of respondents believe rates should reflect a driver's number of accidents

No On 33

September 22, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-no-on/article_e14d6701-0837-55e3-a606-5e50864fc11c.html">Click here to read the original editorial from the North County Times.</a></p> <p>Anyone who has read these pages at all over the past 15 years, since the North County Times was founded out of the merger of the Blade-Citizen and Times Advocate, knows well that we pretty strongly favor a deregulated market where consumers decide winners and losers purely via their buying decisions.</p>