Articles for Consumer Watchdog

California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market
1 week, 4 days ago

California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market

LA Times  

Flames engulf a home on Old Coach Drive in Camarillo during the Mountain fire in November. The regulations that take effect Jan. 2 arose out of a broad agreement Lara reached with the industry that gave insurers regulatory concessions, including the use of the computer models, in exchange for a commitment by large insurers such as State Farm, Farmers and …

Insurance Regulations California Rate Models Policies Insurers
State Farm accused of funneling excess profits to parent as it seeks rate hike
1 month, 3 weeks ago

State Farm accused of funneling excess profits to parent as it seeks rate hike

LA Times  

State Farm General, California’s largest home insurer, is being accused of boosting the profits of its parent company at the expense of state policyholders — while claiming it’s in financial distress and in need of a 30% rate hike. The company bought hundreds of millions of dollars of excess reinsurance from parent State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. over the …

Insurance Consumer General Financial California Company State
Insurance commissioner defends homeowners plan blasted by consumer group
3 months, 1 week ago

Insurance commissioner defends homeowners plan blasted by consumer group

LA Times  

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, right, talks with homeowner Bruce Breslau following a legislative oversight hearing held by the state insurance commissioner at LA City Hall. “Where are you going to come up with that?” Homeowner Bruce Breslau, second from right, attends a legislative oversight hearing held by the state insurance commissioner at LA City Hall. A Farmers spokesperson declined to …

Farmers Homeowners California Coverage Hearing Los Angeles Plan
Oasis and Ticketmaster must refund fans hit by 'dynamic pricing', watchdog demands
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Oasis and Ticketmaster must refund fans hit by 'dynamic pricing', watchdog demands

Daily Mail  

Oasis and Ticketmaster have faced calls to 'do the right thing' and refund fans hit by dynamic pricing by consumer group Which? Consumer Law Expert, said: 'It seems extremely unfair that Oasis fans got up early and battled through the queues only to find that tickets prices had more than doubled from the originally advertised price. believes that Ticketmaster's 'in …

Consumer Consumer Law Prices Price Pricing Demand Noel
State regulators will speed reviews of rate hikes sought by home insurers amid wildfire losses
4 months, 2 weeks ago

State regulators will speed reviews of rate hikes sought by home insurers amid wildfire losses

LA Times  

The state insurance commissioner took action Friday to speed up reviews of rate hikes sought by home insurers after efforts to address the issue through fast-track legislation got bogged down amid opposition from a consumer group. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a bulletin outlining steps his department would take to more quickly reach a decision on whether to decline, …

Insurance Process Review State Department Commissioner Bulletin
Column: Newsom finally gets moving on fixing California’s homeowner insurance crisis
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Column: Newsom finally gets moving on fixing California’s homeowner insurance crisis

LA Times  

Gavin Newsom has proposed urgency legislation to expedite the hiking of homeowner insurance rates. Gubernatorial spokesman Alex Stack issued a statement that read: “This proposal requires the Department of Insurance to modernize and streamline its rate application process to get back to the expedited timelines outlined in Prop 103.” Proposition 103 is California’s insurance bible. Carmen Balber, executive director of …

Consumer California Newsom Rate Rates Governor Insurers
Documents will be unsealed in L.A. city attorney and DWP corruption case, judge rules
8 months, 1 week ago

Documents will be unsealed in L.A. city attorney and DWP corruption case, judge rules

LA Times  

More than 1,000 pages of confidential documents from a federal criminal investigation into the Los Angeles city attorney’s office and the Department of Water and Power will be unsealed, a federal judge signaled Friday. In a tentative ruling, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. said the documents, which consist mainly of dozens of search warrants filed during the government’s investigation, …

Criminal Office Documents City Case Prosecutors Attorney
He claims to have saved California homeowners billions. The insurance industry hates him
9 months, 3 weeks ago

He claims to have saved California homeowners billions. The insurance industry hates him

LA Times  

Harvey Rosenfield and Consumer Watchdog, the organization he founded, does not have a lot of friends in the insurance industry. But in the last year, as home insurers have stopped writing new policies and retreated from parts of the state prone to wildfire, a new voice has joined the ranks of critics who say Rosenfield and Co. are making things …

Consumer Companies California State Group Rate Californians
The scramble to fix California’s home insurance mess failed. Here’s what will happen next
1 year, 3 months ago

The scramble to fix California’s home insurance mess failed. Here’s what will happen next

LA Times  

The remains of a home smolders during the Caldor fire in Twin Bridges, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2021. Since the beginning of the year, companies representing more than half of California’s $12-billion home insurance market have stopped or limited new policies, citing ballooning costs and risks. Since the beginning of the year, companies representing more than half of California’s $12-billion …

Market Companies California Process Senate State Rates
Dutch consumer watchdog to vet Apple dating app payment reforms
2 years, 11 months ago

Dutch consumer watchdog to vet Apple dating app payment reforms

The Hindu  

The Dutch consumer watchdog said on Monday it would vet Apple's move to allow developers of dating apps to offer non-Apple payment options in the Netherlands, to see if the changes are enough to meet competition rules. Late last month the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets ordered Apple to make changes for apps on offer in the Apple App …

Dating Dutch Netherlands Apple Payment App Consumer Watchdog