New Video Exposes Mercury Insurance Initiative Goal: Raise Auto Premiums in California to Put 'Into Line' With Other States' Higher Car Insurance Rate

Advocates Calls on AG Jerry Brown to Review Evidence and Explain Premium Increase in Official Summary of Initiative

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Campaign for Consumer Rights (CCR), the campaign affiliate of Consumer Watchdog, has released a new video today showing that motorists pay surcharges of up to 227% for auto insurance in states where Mercury Insurance is allowed to penalize people for not having prior insurance coverage, according to Mercury's own web siteThis video checked premiums in states that Mercury Insurance identifies as the models for the ballot measure it has qualified for the June 2010 ballot.

The proposed Mercury Insurance initiative seeks to gut a provision of the 1988 insurance reform measure Proposition 103 that prohibits insurance companies from surcharging people who have not driven previously, had a lapse in coverage for any reason, or have even missed a single insurance payment.

CCR has sent the video and an associated letter to Attorney General Jerry Brown asking him to review this evidence in advance of his release of the final Title and Summary for the initiative, and include the fact that this measure will allow insurance companies to raise auto insurance premiums, not just lower them.

Last week, CCR released a video showing how Mercury surcharged a Nevada resident 73% for his premium because there are no Prop 103 protections in the Silver State. Mercury's front group, Cal-FAIR, called the smoking gun video "lame and misleading," saying that it was inappropriate to compare what would happen to California drivers under the initiative to the premium surcharges faced in Nevada.

In the new video, Proposition 103 author Harvey Rosenfield quotes the exact language of the Mercury Insurance initiative, which says that the purpose of the measure is to "simply bring California into line with other states like Texas, New York,Oregon, Washington and Florida."

He then provides the evidence that in those states, as in Nevada, Mercury's surcharge proposal drives up premiums for good drivers who have done nothing wrong. The results are staggering:

-- In Texas, Mercury forces a person whose coverage lapsed while were serving in the military to pay 33% more. Mercury's website actually asks if you were on active duty in order to impose the soldier surcharge;

-- Mercury charges 74% more in Texas for a driver who didn't previously have auto insurance because he did not have an automobile (and did not require insurance);

-- In New York, a consumer faces as much as an 81% "no prior insurance" surcharge; and

-- In Florida, Mercury's website quotes a 227% increase for a driver with a perfect record if he did not have insurance at the time he requested the policy.

"Mercury Insurance will spend millions to lie to voters about the impact of its initiative, which is why it is so important that Attorney General Jerry Brown provide Californians with the truth that it will raise insurance costs for millions of Californiadrivers," said Rosenfield. "In the plain language of its initiative, Mercury says its initiative would make California like Texasand Florida, so Brown must disclose what happens to drivers in those states."

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Adding teen to car insurance policy doesn't have to hurt

 I recently added my teenage son to my auto insurance policy, and to my shock, instead of facing a skyrocketing premium, my payment went down about $200.

Like most parents, I was dreading the idea of insuring a 16-year-old. Auto policy payments typically increase 50 to 100 percent when you add a teenager, said Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group. Teenage boys generally cost more, but the gap is decreasing because accidents by teenage girls are climbing, she said.

To ward off some of the financial pain, I had a lengthy discussion last year with my insurance agent when my son took his driver’s education course before his 16th birthday. I took every suggestion the agent made but still expected a whopping increase.

It turns out I was happily wrong. While all of the strategies I took may not work for everyone, parents should ask their agent about these ideas before adding their teenager to their policy.

1. Nonprimary driver status. By having more people on the policy than cars in the garage, you can save big bucks, my agent told me. In other words, consider at least delaying for a few years your teenager having his own car. (Easier said than done. Nearly 75 percent of the teens in a State Farm insurance survey reported being the main driver of a car.)

This can save you more than money. A study by State Farm and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia released this month in the journal Pediatrics found that teens who reported being the main driver of a vehicle were twice as likely to be involved in a crash, compared with teens who said they shared a vehicle with other family members.

My agent assigned my teenager to our oldest car as a nonprimary driver. Some insurers automatically assign new drivers to a family’s most expensive vehicle, so be sure to tell your agent which car your teenager will be driving.

2. Drop comprehensive and collision coverage. Only liability insurance, which covers damage you do to others, is required on a vehicle in Texas. One of our cars is a 1999 van that isn’t worth comprehensive coverage (damage from things like fire, flood, hail and theft) or collision (damage to your vehicle in an accident).

Dropping that coverage means savings, but it’s only recommended on vehicles valued at around the same or less than the annual premium amount. Remember, you take on more financial risk with this strategy in the event of an accident, so make sure you have savings you can use immediately to replace a vehicle if necessary.

3. Stay on permit. Our insurer, Farmers Insurance, didn’t require my son to be on our policy until he got his full license. Because of the graduated license program in Texas, he was able to stay on his driver’s permit (which requires an adult driver in the passenger seat) until he was nearly 17. This is not true of all insurers; contact your agent when your child gets his permit.

It turns out we weren’t alone in delaying his license. Because of the graduated license requirements and higher insurance costs, less than a third of 16-year-olds had their driver’s license in 2007, compared with 43 percent in 1998, according to the Federal Highway Administration. By age 17, barely half have a license, compared with 60 percent in 1998.


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Image Forward Announces New Texas Car Insurance Clients from Buffalo, Dallas and Houston

Image Forward, Internet Marketing Company headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida, welcome three new clients from Texas. Image Forward features internet SEO consultants (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) specialists who strategically combine a premier internet business directory with website optimization and search engine promotion of an existing website for innovative client solutions. Image Forward will enhance the overall internet presence of the State Farm Insurance Agencies serving Car Insurance in Buffalo, NY, Car Insurance in Dallas, TX and Car Insurance in Houston, TX.

John Kasperek, Insurance Agency, located in Buffalo, New York, at 2156 South Park Ave. serving the greater Buffalo area in Erie County, has become a client of Image Forward. This insurance agency specializes in car insurance, auto insurance, motorcycle insurance, life insurance, home insurance, classic car insurance and more. John Kasperek Insurance of Buffalo, NY can be reached at 716-822-2241.

Image Forward also welcomes a new insurance client from Dallas, Texas, Sarah Bradford Insurance. Sarah Bradford Insurance Agency is located at 7130 Campbell Rd #205B, Dallas County, Dallas, TX. This insurance agent provides car insurance, motorcycle insurance, life and home insurance and antique auto insurance. Sarah Bradford, State Farm Insurance Agency of Dallas, TX can be reached at 972-248-5001.

Image Forward will also be working with Jack Wallace from Houston, Texas. Wallace Insurance of Houston, TX is working with Image Forward’s internet SEO and marketing consultants. This car insurance agency is serving the greater Harris County, Texas area at 3405 Mercer Rd. Jack Wallace Insurance of Houston, TX specializes in car and auto insurance, motorcycle insurance, life insurance, home insurance, antique auto insurance and more. Call Jack Wallace Car Insurance of Houston, TX, 713-626-7500 for more information.

Image Forward’s internet SEO and marketing consultants, serving the United States and several countries, strives for a Top 10 Search Engine Ranking Position on Google and other major search engines for specific search phrases in local markets. Image Forward takes a multi-disciplined approach to making their client’s daily business operations more efficient and most cost-effective.


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Insurance across state lines?

As the Democratic health-reform plans have developed, Republicans have consistently offered one suggestion in opposition: allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. In doing so, the argument goes, persons could shop via the Internet for a policy with a cheaper premium that was being sold in another state, thereby saving money.

This seems perfectly sensible to anyone who has purchased a pair of running shoes over the Internet for a price lower than that available locally. Unfortunately, it won't work with health insurance.

States have regulated health insurance since the 1945 passage of the McCarran Ferguson Act, which, among other things, forbids interstate sale of insurance (health, auto, homeowners). States have regulated insurance ever since. Many insurance companies sell policies in different states but, in doing so, must comply with a given state's regulations. For example, I have car insurance from the same company as my dad who lives in Georgia.Some already purchase health insurance across state lines. The ERISA Act of 1974 allows businesses that self-insure their employees to include all employees in one health insurance pool, even if they live in different states. Self-insurance means that the company is responsible for paying the health expenditures of its employees after the employees have paid the specified deductibles and co-pays. Such companies typically hire an insurance company to process claims and are predominantly large employers who have chosen to self-insure to remove the insurance middleman.

But individuals are prevented from purchasing health insurance across state lines. Allowing them to do so would require a federal law that replaces state regulation of insurance with federal regulation. This is an odd policy prescription for Republicans to champion, because they tend to reject federal regulation in favor of state autonomy.


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4 Days Of Car Insurance Enforcement, 17 Vehicles Impounded

EL PASO, Texas -- It's been a few days since the enforcement of this new law and some El Pasoans are learning the hard way that it pays to have car insurance.
"No doubt. I wish I had insurance," said Enrique Munoz.
Munoz was pulled over on Tuesday because of a moving violation. He didn't know that it would become such a hassle.
"When he pulled me over he turned around and said, 'Do you have insurance?' And I don't. He said I had to impound the car," said Munoz.
AD Towing picked up his car and he had to call his wife for a ride. He said it seemed like bad luck was following him because he was insured before.
"I had been working on the car and it's been only a week since I got it out," said Munoz.
El Paso Police officials said so far since the ordinance went into effect on Sunday, officers have had 17 cars impounded. Outside AD Towing, KFOX talked to Miguel Angel Ledesma who discovered that his wife car was towed Wednesday morning.
"This morning my wife was in a fender bender. They towed the car because she didn't have insurance. I came to get the car," said Ledesma.
Drivers outside AD towing said they don't think the new ordinance is fair. Amanda Teran said some people can't afford car insurance.
"They need to check first if a person has had insurance. If it has lapsed within a certain amount of time, then give them a break, cite them for no insurance, but don't tow the car," said Teran.
Munoz and his wife already got coverage for the vehicle and they came to pick it up. They'll pay about $85 to AD Towing. But the longer it stays, the more you pay. And for Ledesma, he still doesn't have insurance and he's leaving empty handed.
"I know they're forcing people to get car insurance, but it's too much. It's a lot of money," said Ledesma.



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Road rage earns jail time for Texas man

YOUNGSTOWN — An act of road rage has earned a Texas man several years of probation and a short stint in the county jail.

Fadil Galesic, 32, of Texas, appeared Friday before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for sentencing on three counts of aggravated assault.

Galesic had entered into a plea agreement in early June amending three counts of felonious assault to three counts of aggravated assault.

The felonious-assault charges carried sentences of probation to eight years on each count.

The amended charges of aggravated assault carry penalties of probation to 18 months on each count.

Prosecutors recommended probation for Galesic. J. Michael Thompson, an assistant county prosecutor, previously told the court a standing conviction and restitution will be sufficient punishment from the prosecutor’s standpoint.

If there had been injuries, he said, the situation would be different.

Judge Krichbaum followed that recommendation, sentencing Galesic to three years’ probation, but on the stipulation that Galesic serve six months in the county jail.

Galesic had been free after posting $50,000 bond.

Before leaving court Friday, Galesic paid $250 to the victims to cover an insurance deductible for a car damaged in the incident.

Galesic was at an Austintown strip club April 5 when he got into a disagreement with some other patrons.

Galesic’s attorney Michael Kivlighan previously told the judge the disagreement appears to have started when someone made disparaging remarks about the club’s dancers.

Thompson said Galesic left the club around the same time as the other patrons, got into his truck and rammed their van, causing the vehicle to run off the road.

Galesic, who was said to be intoxicated, tried to drive off but was later captured and held by the people he ran off the road.


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Device uses driving habits to set insurance rate

A new type of car insurance that sets rates using a device installed in a vehicle to measure individual driving habits is being rolled out in Texas.

MyRateSM, offered by Progressive, has already been introduced in other parts of the country as part of a national rollout, depending on state regulatory approval.

Cars driven less often, in less risky ways and at less risky times of day could receive a lower premium using the device.

As an enticement, the company is offering Texas customers a first-term discount of as much as 10 percent when they sign up for MyRate and install the unit. When they renew their policy, they could save as much as 25 percent or more — or see their rates hiked by up to 9 percent — based on driving habits.

The company charges $30 per policy period for the use of the device.

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