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When the proponent of an insurance proposition didn’t appear before a committee, a man in a chicken suit took his place.

Harvey Rosenfield is the founder of Consumer Watchdog and the lead opponent of Proposition 17.  Rosenfield says if voters pass it, insurance companies will be able to add a surcharge to policies of new or former customers who have no existing policy. Rosenfield has called for Mercury Insurance founder George Joseph to appear before the committee.  Joseph declined, so Rosenfield brought a man in a chicken costume in his place.

Mike D’Arelli of the Alliance of Insurance agents and brokers did appear. He says surcharges will not go up, but that Prop 17 will allow customers to switch companies and keep those continuous coverage discounts.

Mercury Insurance lost a lawsuit that tried to ban language from the ballot that says rates for previously uninsured drivers will go up.