Testimony To California Assembly Select Committee On Gas Pricing And Supply Committee August 11, 2022

Consumer Watchdog issued a new report showing that insurance companies have been illegally denying coverage to policyholders after wildfires.

On Monday, Consumer Watchdog issued a report saying FAIR Plan-type smoke provisions ARE rolling out in the private insurance market, too.

"We were astonished to find provisions in these insurance policies that say that they limited coverage for smoke damage," says Consumer Watchdog's Harvey Rosenfield. "California law is very clear, there is no separate limit for a smoke damage."

Homeowners in a Castaic condo complex were hit with a massive rate increase for fire insurance, with rates going from roughly $40,000 a year in 2020 to nearly $450,000 in 2022. 

Harvey Rosenfield, with Consumer Watchdog, authored Prop 103 in 1987, which led to stricter regulations for insurance companies in California. "Here is what I think," Rosenfield said. "I think insurance companies are taking advantage of a crisis to create their own crisis in the marketplace, by overcharging people, by refusing to renew." 

"This bill basically says 'Show us the Money. Show us how much you're making, per gallon, per month,'" said Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court. "Unfortunately the evidence we have from the information that's out there on the per-gallon profits are that we are being ripped off in the extreme." 

Alex Cohen interviews Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court regarding the recent change in the law to raise the cap on medical malpractice damages in California. 

LOS ANGELES - People filling up at the downtown Los Angeles Chevron off of Alameda woke up to gas prices under $8 a gallon, a few cents cheaper than what it was just a day ago after FOX 11 reported the station was charging over $8 a gallon.

FOX 11 was asked to leave the property when we approached staffers to ask why gas was so much more expensive here than anywhere else.