Insurance

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: Don’t Let Prop 33 Fool You

October 18, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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

October 18, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<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>

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>

California’s Billionaire Ballot: The Good, Bad, And Ugly

October 17, 2012  ·  Daniel Palay

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2466" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jamiepic-new1.jpg" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />Populist governor Hiram Johnson gave Californians the ballot initiative one hundred and one years ago to combat the stranglehold of wealthy scions over the statehouse.

Ad Watch: Prop. 33 Ad Misleads On Discounts, Spokesperson

October 16, 2012  ·  Daniel Palay

<p>Backers of Proposition 33 have run a series of TV ads depicting motorists who support the initiative, which would alter the way auto insurance premiums are regulated in California. Here is a text of one of the ads, and an analysis by Bee staff writer Dale Kasler.</p>

Consumer Watchdog Campaign Releases Top Five Reasons the Insurance Company Behind Prop 33 Can’t Be Trusted

October 16, 2012  ·  Carmen Balber

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2160" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/images_canttrustmercury-pagemasthead.gif" style="width: 300px; height: 99px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="555" height="183" />Santa Monica, CA -- The insurance billionaire behind Prop 33 is asking California voters to believe that he wants to overturn laws that have protected consumers for 24 years to save consumers money.

California’s Portable Persistency Discounts Heat Up Ahead of November Elections

October 16, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>LOS ANGELES, CA -- A consumer advocacy group in California has fired another salvo of public complaints against Mercury Insurance Group, accusing the personal lines insurer of raising automobile insurance rates ahead of an election that will decide the fate of a ballot measure the consumer group said will directly benefit Mercury.<br /> <br />