Deceptive Mercury Insurance Ballot Initiative Is Now Proposition 17

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has announced that the ballot initiative fully funded by Mercury Insurance to jack up Californians’ auto insurance premiums has been assigned Proposition 17 for the June 8 ballot. Proposition 17 would surcharge drivers, including soldiers and seniors, who have had a lapse in car insurance coverage for virtually any reason during the past five years.

Under the proposal, people who stopped driving and didn’t need insurance for a time would be required to pay hundreds of dollars more for insurance when they sought to restart coverage. Prop. 17 would also allow insurers to charge significantly higher premiums to people who missed just one insurance payment.

The measure would gut a provision of the 1988 insurance reform measure Proposition 103, which prohibits companies from raising rates on people because they did not have auto insurance in the past.

“Don’t be fooled by Proposition 17 and the multi-million dollar campaign funded by Mercury Insurance,” said Harvey Rosenfield, author of Proposition 103. “Prop 17 is an insurance company attack on families, soldiers and seniors who are already struggling in a tough economy. Voters should know that Prop 17 will raise insurance premiums.”