The increasing number of companies aiming to get car owners to rent their vehicles to strangers when not using them themselves begs the question: How will the services affect the owners’ auto insurance?
Mercury Insurance Group, a major backer of a hotly contested insurance measure on the June ballot, faces potentially costly fines in the wake of a new state report alleging that California’s third-largest insurer is violating state laws “despite agreements with the state to terminate illegal behavior.”
Laws banning the use of hand-held phones while driving have failed to reduce crashes, according to research conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner declined to delete wording submitted by insurer Mercury General Corp., the main sponsor of Proposition 17, in voter information pamphlets.
California has minimum limits of 15/30/5 for liability insurance. That means $15,000 for bodily injury (to the other driver), $30,000 total for an accident for bodily injury and $5,000 for property damage. California’s requirements are the some of the lowest in the country. This may sound great but consider if you were in a serious accident.
Following is a statement by Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, in response to Mercury Insurance Company’s announcement last night that it would sue to silence the arguments of consumer groups opposing the initiative and also begin its long awaited multi-million dollar advertising campaign to pass Prop 17
Any reductions in premiums for drivers who qualify for the persistency discount, or the increase in premium for those who do not maintain continuous coverage, are products of existing regulations - not Proposition 17.
Purchasing minimal car insurance coverage may be good enough for the state, but can leave policyholders in a bad position following a collision.
A California ballot item would legalize practices Mercury has been fined for
California’s Alliance of Insurance Agents & Brokers announced its support for a state ballot measure that would change the rules by which automobile insurers could provide discounts to continuously insured drivers.