State Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a democrat from Los Angeles, has recently proposed new legislation in California, to amend the law concerning the responsibility of motorists to carry proof of their auto insurance coverage with them whenever they are behind the wheel within the state. Assembly Bill 1708 would require California insurance companies to provide a customer’s proof of financial responsibility in a format that is accessible by a mobile electronic device, should that documentation be requested by the individual. This also means that should a motorist be pulled over for…
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Satisfaction with auto insurance claims remains steady regardless of rise in number of claims and repair times
A report released by J.D. Power and Associates, called the 2012 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study – Wave 1, that has shown that despite the fact that there has been a rise in the number of car insurance claims, and it is taking longer for vehicle repairs to be completed, customer satisfaction remained about the same throughout the last quarter of 2011. The number of claims rose as a result of damage from weather, which also meant that repair shops faced a higher-than-normal volume during that last quarter. The average length…
Read MoreDiscount initiative for car insurance moves onward to November ballot
When voters in California head to the ballot in November, they will also face the issue of a discount initiative for auto insurance, called the 2012 Automobile Insurance Discount Act, which was over 99 percent funded by the chairman of Mercury Insurance. The initial sponsorship for the proposal was from the American Agents Alliance, a trade group. This initiative would allow motorists who change their insurers to obtain a discount if they have already had insurance on their vehicles. The proposal had received nearly 505,000 signatures (a random sample of…
Read MoreMercury’s controversial Prop 17 finds its way back to the Californian ballot
Mercury Insurance’s controversial Proposition 17 has been resurrected and made its way to California’s November ballot. The proposition received funding from George Joseph, the billionaire chairman of the insurance company. The money was enough to bring the proposition back to life after it had been struck down by voters in 2010. Now, voters will have another opportunity to weigh in on the proposition, but there may be no guarantee that their efforts will put an end to the insurer’s plans for good. The proposition aims to make changes to Proposition…
Read MoreMercury Insurance to raise rates in California, agitating consumer advocates
Mercury Insurance is looking to raise rates on homeowners and renters insurance policies in California. The company has plans to raise rates by an average of 8.8% for some 300,000 consumers in the state. If state regulators approve the proposal, the company will be generating an additional $19 million per year in profits. Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit organization concerned with fairness for insurance consumers, claims that the proposal is unreasonable because the insurer is already awash with profit. According to Consumer Watchdog, the company paid less than 50 cents on…
Read MoreCalifornia auto insurance industry leaders underline online auto policy sales growth
A report from Online Auto Insurance has revealed that recent talks among representatives of the California insurance industry have focused on the necessity for their agents to change their strategy for growing the number of customers who are purchasing their auto insurance online, which underlines the fact that drivers have a wide variety of different options for buying their coverage. Experts in the industry have been observing, over the last few years, that a growing number of individuals who are seeking cheaper premiums for their auto coverage are using the…
Read MoreCalifornia is the state with the fourth toughest consequences for texting behind the wheel
InsuranceQuotes.com has released a list of the ranks of the states that have the toughest consequences for texting while driving, and California drivers came in fourth among the ten hardest hitting. The Austin, Texas-based InsuranceQuotes.com is an organization that provides comparison quotes for insurance policies over the internet. It performed the review of the bans that have been put into place in Washington D.C. and 35 of the states. Their news release reported on the company’s examination of the penalties and fines that are issued to drivers who are caught…
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