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…
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Consumer Watchdog chastises California’s Mercury Insurance for supposed illegal practices
Mercury is looking to raise its auto insurance rates by $89 million in California, a move that consumer advocates are calling “illegal.” Consumer Watchdog, a group concerned with making the California insurance industry more consumer friendly, claims that the insurer is looking to pass a new law that would allow it to raise rates for good drivers that have, simply, not driven for a period of time for any reason. Mercury Chairman George Joseph claims that the legislation the company is backing would save policyholders money, but Consumer Watchdog calls such…
Read MoreAnthem Blue Cross faces lawsuit over size of deductibles for health insurance
Consumer Watchdog has filed a lawsuit against Anthem Blue Cross, claiming that the insurer is using “bait and switch” tactics to increase the out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles which must be paid by some of their consumers. This is the second time in a period of eight months that the largest for-profit insurance company in California has faced a lawsuit over claims that its contracts with customers had been breached by mid-year deductible increases. In this most recent case, Consumer Watchdog alleges that over 100,000 policyholders have experienced a misrepresentation of…
Read MoreConsumer group in California petitions lawmakers to grant more control to state insurance regulators
California consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has submitted a new proposal to the state attorney general’s office regarding health insurance. Last year, the organization was a driving force behind new auto insurance regulations that pout caps on premiums. Now, the group is backing legislation that would require the state’s health insurers to wait for approval from regulators before collecting premiums from higher rates. Consumer Watchdog is awaiting the approval from the state’s attorney general before it begins to collect the 505,000 signatures needed to bring the issue before the state…
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