Mercury’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 More

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 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