California awarded federal grants to make insurance rate review process more efficient

The state of California has been struggling to rein in one rampant rate increases coming from a number of health insurance companies. High rates are spurred by rising costs in health care and the state has been having trouble coping with the sheer number of rate proposals coming in. Short falls in the rate review process can, sometimes, put consumers at unnecessary financial risk. To help the state establish a more efficient review process, the federal government has awarded California with more than $4.3 million in grants. The California Department…

Read More

Some California cities will continue with red light cameras

Various cities in Southern California have chosen to continue their commitment to enforcing red lights with cameras, regardless of L.A.’s decision to terminate the program. There was a unanimous vote in the Los Angeles City Council (13-0) in favor of ending the program after city officials deemed the payment of the fines for tickets issued by the cameras to be voluntary. This angered many motorists who had already paid their own tickets. Cities who remain committed to the program include Beverly Hills, where the program for red light cameras has…

Read More

Mercury Insurance shows their approval for newly proposed auto discount in California

Mercury General Corp. has just announced its support of an auto insurance initiative comparable to last year’s Proposition 17, which was turned down by voters in June 2010. Supporters of this initiative are thrilled with Mercury’s backing, and are hoping that this second effort will make the difference. Insurance trade group, American Agents Alliance’s executive director, Mike D’Arelli, submitted the proposed initiative’s summary to the California attorney general’s office; taking the first step toward a vote on the initiative. Mercury had previously been a supporter of Proposition 17, having spent…

Read More

American Agents Alliance initiative seeks discount for consumers maintaining car insurance

A California agents group, the American Agents Alliance, is moving forward with an initiative that would offer a discount to consumers who have persistently maintained their vehicle insurance, no matter their insurer or insurance company.  The current law states that this persistency discount is allowed only when the coverage has been continually kept with the same company.  However, the initiative sought by the Agents Alliance is comparable to Proposition 17 in 2010 – which lost by only 2 percent – and would have permitted consumers to carry their persistency discount…

Read More

California Car Insurance: Sequoia offering new “Pay As You Go” insurance plan

Following the latest insurance trend sweeping the nation, Sequoia Insurance Co., one of the largest insurers in California, will begin offering a pay-as-you-drive auto insurance policy. Sequoia joins State Farm and Progressive in offering this particular policy, increasing the options available to California drivers. Progressive was the first to incorporate this concept into their coverage options after finding that fewer people were taking to the road in light of rising gas prices and other costs. Drivers interested in the coverage must first have a small device installed in their vehicles.…

Read More