An insurers trade group executive said today that carriers will be in court Monday to appeal a judge's refusal to halt new regulations limiting carriers' use of ZIP codes to rate California drivers.

Sam Sorich, president of the Association of California Insurance Companies said the organization expects "to go to the California Court of Appeal and ask for a reversal."

Yesterday's decision by Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster in Sacramento was hailed by State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, who issued a statement terming it "a great victory for California voters and good drivers wherever they live."

He said it meant that state residents "will finally realize the benefits of Proposition 103," the 1988 voter initiative for insurance reform, "Good drivers should reap the rewards of being safe," he added.

Under Mr. Garamendi's new regulations, which he refers to as the Good Driver Auto Insurance Reforms, insurers are required to rate drivers based primarily on their safety record, annual mileage and driving experience.

Although Judge McMaster denied the application for a stay by ACIC, the Personal Insurance Federation of California and the American Insurance Association, he extended the time for carriers to file new rating plans from Monday to Thursday, during which time they can appeal.

Mr. Sorich noted that the judge's ruling was not on the validity of the regulations, but on the question of whether an injunction should be granted.

The insurers, he said, had argued to Judge McMaster that implementation of the regulations would harm drivers and people who pay premiums, because if a court ultimately finds they are invalid "the drivers who paid more [under the regulations] will have difficulty getting money back."

"And we will have difficulty explaining to other drivers why we are making them pay more," he added. It's going to be a consumer hardship."

ACIC contends that the change in regulations will penalize drivers living in rural areas who currently pay less.

Mr. Sorich said ACIC believes the judge was mistaken in denying the stay. The judge found that the organizations' suit to overturn the regulations did not have a good likelihood of success because a court will give deference to the commissioner.

He noted that the first requirement for filing under the regulations only calls for a 15 percent compliance, "but ultimately the companies have to achieve a full 100 percent compliance within two years."

According to Mr. Garamendi, while insurers have two years, "they must show significant progress during the first year."

The lame-duck commissioner, who is the Democratic candidate for California lieutenant governor, has been battling insurers since issuing the regulations, and during his primary campaign he charged that their negative ads about his rules were "blackmail."

In his statement yesterday after the court ruling, he said Chuck Quackenbush, his Republican predecessor as commissioner had allowed a system that "permitted insurers to charge widely varying rates to similarly situated drivers who live across the street from one another, based solely on their respective ZIP Codes."

Special Reports /

Calif. Auto Insurers To Appeal Zip Code Ruling

Related Stories

Recommended For You