Insurance

A Letter to the President Can Matter: Ours Changed Hyundai’s MPG Claims And Evened the Playing Field For US Carmakers

November 3, 2012  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2466" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jamiepic-new1.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 226px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />If you doubt that writing the White House can make a difference, just look at <strong><a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrwhitehousempg011212_0.pdf">the letter</a></strong> my Consumer Watchdog colleague Judy Dugan and I wrote to the President in January calling for an audit of the inflated MPG claims for the Hyundai Elantra.

Welcome To Consumer Watchdog for iPhone & iPad

October 31, 2012  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2504" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/images_appstore-sq.png" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; float: right;" width="175" height="175" />iPhone, iPod and iPad owners <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/consumer-watchdog/id580994842?ls=1&mt=8">can now download our new App from the Apple App Store</a> and connect to Consumer Watchdog’s daily public interest fights against corrupt corporations and crooked politicians.</p> <p>Our motto is: Expose, Confront, Change.  We believe that when 70% of the public wants to change the world, it can be done.</p>

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

October 30, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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>

Rogers vs Auto Club – Harvey Rosenfield’s Comments at Press Conference

October 29, 2012  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<h2 align="center"> Prepared Remarks of Harvey Rosenfield</h2> <h2 align="center"> News Conference</h2> <h2 align="center"> - Lawsuit Against Auto Club for Violation of Proposition 103 –</h2> <h2 align="center"> Santa Monica, California</h2> <h2 align="center"> October 25, 2012</h2> <p> </p>

Op-Ed – Jamie Court: No On Prop. 33

October 29, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 26, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 24, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 22, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 20, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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: Sacramento News & Review Endorsements for Nov 6 2012

October 18, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/vote-with-us/content?oid=8118815">Click here to read the original editorial from the Sacramento News & Review</a>.</p> <p><strong>Proposition 33: No</strong></p>