Kerry Abukhalaf – Alameda, CA
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Insurance
Insurance news, investigations, and reform — auto, home, and health insurance rates, claims denials, and industry accountability.
Lies, Damned Lies and Fuel Economy Numbers
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Heather Peters with her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid.</p>
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Don’t Let Them Kill Us Too
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<img class=" size-full wp-image-2250" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/images_jamiepic-new1.jpg" style="width: 133px; height: 200px;" width="133" height="200" />Congress has shut down President Obama’s financial consumer watchdog agency by refusing to confirm its director. Our Consumer Watchdog has a lot of powerful enemies too and they are trying to put us out of business.</p>
Looking Back and Looking Forward
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<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2333" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/images_cwd-crewinblue.png" style="width: 272px; height: 131px; float: right; margin: 3px;" width="272" height="131" />At the beginning of this year the advocates, organizers and lawyers at Consumer Watchdog promised to take on insurance and healthcare companies, fight for online privacy and build a community of activists who could spread the word about our work for consumer protection and social change.<br />
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Here’s a quick look at some of Consumer Watchdog’s 2011 successes by the numbers:<br />
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Did South Carolina Insurance Chief Quit Over Fallout?
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<strong>Insurance chief's exit follows Haley grant controversy</strong></p>
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South Carolina officials remained tight-lipped Thursday about the abrupt resignation of the state's top insurance regulator less than a year after Gov. Nikki Haley appointed him.</p>
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But several Democrats and others who worked with the former director said he wants out of an administration embroiled in a controversy that entangles his agency.</p>
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David Black, director of the S.C. Department of Insurance, resigned Wednesday but hasn't said why.</p>
Best Corporate Flip-Flop of 2011
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<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2330" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/images_protestblueshield.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 129px; float: right; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px;" width="250" height="129" />It was a shocking figure. Some Blue Shield policyholders were going to pay rate increases of 86%. Consumer Watchdog, together with nurses and patients, showed up at Blue Shield's headquarters in San Francisco to protest the greed that could lead to such an attempted rip-off.</p>
Time Warner Rate Hike Punishes Loyalty
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Happy holidays. Your cable rates are going up. Again. <br />
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In its most Grinch-like fashion, Time Warner Cable, the dominant cable company in Southern California, is alerting customers that rates for nearly all its services will increase as of the next bill. <br />
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Some rates will be significantly higher, such as a 27.4% increase to $17 from $13.34 just to receive local broadcast channels. <br />
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Consumer Group Hammers Mercury Rate Increase Filing in California
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A California consumer group is challenging a rate hike bid by Mercury Insurance because the group claims the company is trying to pass along the costs of its political campaigning.</p>
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But the insurer says those costs are not included in the rate hike.</p>
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Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog says the costs involve millions of dollars in political contributions for a 2010 campaign the group viewed an “anti-consumer” proposition on the California ballot.</p>
Mercury, Consumer Watchdog Spar Over Rate Hike Proposal
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In a sign the 2012 insurance wars have begun, a consumer group that routinely seeks to block rate increases has accused auto insurance giant Mercury General of illegally passing onto consumers the cost of its 2010 ballot measure campaign.</p>
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Consumer Watchdog is seeking to block a Mercury subsidiary's request to raise rates on its auto insurance policies by an average of 6 percent, a move Consumer Watchdog says will cost consumers nearly $89 million.</p>
Feds Deny Florida’s Request for More Time on Insurance Rule
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As many as 2 million Floridians could see lower health insurance premiums or get rebates next year now that the Obama administration has denied Florida's request to waive new cost-cutting rules for the state's insurance providers.<br />
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Under last year's health care reform law, insurers must spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on medical care as opposed to administrative costs, brokers' fees or profits. Companies that spend less must rebate their customers the difference.<br />
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