Elias: California insurance chief Lara too cozy with industry he regulates

"As he prepares for his last year in office, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is going all out to make it easier for insurance companies to fulfill their wishes, doing their bidding as he usually has during seven years as the state's insurance boss. He's now under investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for accepting help with campaign expenses and travel gifts, including a trip to Bermuda."

"Now he proposes to make himself the sole arbiter of how much insurance companies can charge for property and vehicle coverage. He wants to change rules letting consumer groups scrutinize and challenge rate increases sought by companies like State Farm, Allstate and many others. The rules for challenges are set by California's 1988 Proposition 103, which also made the insurance commissioner an elected official with a two-term limit. Lara's tenure began in early 2019, so he must depart the office just after Jan. 1, 2027."

"Lara essentially wants to defy Prop. 103, the state's main insurance law, which requires the companies to pay consumer representatives (known as "intervenors") legal fees and to compensate experts who testify in rate cases. Lara seeks to circumvent that law by vetoing consumer groups' payments if he finds their advocacy is "vexacious," "duplicative," "oppositional" or "irrelevant" plus a few other adjectives."

Ricardo Lara is pursuing rule changes that would let him centrally control property and vehicle insurance rates and curb public interest groups' ability to challenge rate increases. He filed a draft resolution to deny payments to consumer intervenors if their advocacy is deemed "vexacious," "duplicative," "oppositional" or "irrelevant." Lara previously allowed thousands of homeowner policies to be canceled, pushing many consumers into the more expensive state Fair Plan. The Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating Lara for accepting campaign help and travel gifts. Thirty-six nonprofits urged withdrawal of his draft resolution. The move targets Consumer Watchdog, founder Harvey Rosenfield.

Read at The Mercury News