Consumer Watchdog has been facing criticisms regarding its latest steps.
A consumer group that has backed a recent California insurance initiative and has saved residents of the state from millions of dollars in fees is now facing a new wave of fire from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers and political consultants.
Critics have pointed out that Consumer Watchdog has been profiting from the new regulation.
Moreover, it has also found that the special California insurance regulation is, essentially, dominated by the advocacy group. The consultants are arguing that the organization is using a ballot initiative in order to try to help itself to a growing amount of revenue. Not only are critics making this statement against the group, but they’re also saying that this is far from the first time that it has occurred.
Some California insurance industry members are calling the organization a massive scam.
Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant who works with an opposition research firm, has said that “It’s one of the all-time great scams”.
At the same time, it should be noted that Consumer Watchdog also has a great deal of support in the California insurance industry, among other consumer advocates. They often defend both the group and the system as a whole.
A senior attorney for the company that publishes Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, named Mark Savage, stated that the attacks are simply because “Insurance companies do not like effective advocates.”
The criticism against Consumer Watchdog has grown far more intense due to its opposition to the industry backed measure known as Proposition 33, which involves auto policies. The group is, instead, aiming to create its own proposition for the 2014 ballot, which would generate a similar regulation for the rates applied to California insurance health policies. The result would be greater earnings for the group.
The president of the Santa Monica based organization, Jamie Court, has entirely shut down the critiques to their efforts. These are not seen as anything new and have been persisting for several years. To Court, this is simply a part of the California insurance environment and has not changed the way that the organization will progress.