Why I Dumped Mercury Insurance-- And Why You Should Too

Sleazy & reactionary-- a bad combo

When was the last time an insurance company spent millions of dollars to save you money?

Prop 17, a deceptive measure on the June ballot here in California, is solely sponsored by Mercury Insurance. The company has already spent over $5 million to convince you that the measure will lower your auto insurance rates. "Hey," I thought, "they're using my premiums for that bullshit and who's it meant to hurt? Me!"

Prop 17 is one of those initiatives that says one thing but does another. It lets insurance companies slap a surcharge on you, even if you're a good driver. Under Prop 17, if you had a lapse in coverage of more than 90 days, missed a single payment or did not previously have insurance-- even if you did not own a car-- your insurance rates will go up... by thousands of dollars a year.

The Prop 17 surcharge is illegal in California today. The voters passed a law banning it back in 1988. Why? Because insurance companies raised rates so high, people could barely afford car insurance.

The number of uninsured motorists on the roads skyrocketed back then. Prop 17 will legalize these rate hikes in your car insurance, and there’ll be even more uninsured motorists on the road.

Taking a closer look at Mercury: Just a few weeks ago, the California Dept. of Insurance accused Mercury of overcharging thousands of its customers. Investigators discovered that Mercury failed to give customers the discounts they were entitled to and overcharged people just because they were self-employed, or worked out of their homes, or had health problems. The company even broke its own previous promises to regulators that it would stop violating state laws.

Mercury Insurance now faces tens of millions of dollars in fines for overcharging people. That's my money too! No wonder they were so cheap when someone rear-ended my parked car on La Brea last year! Mercury has a sleazy record of systematically overcharging clients and people they arbitrarily decide to be unworthy-- like a woman married to a younger man or an unmarried couple. The California Dept. of Insurance has reported that Mercury Insurance has a history of discrimination against members of the U.S. military, the unemployed, the disabled, small businesspeople and unmarried adults living together.

For Mercury Insurance to sponsor Prop 17 is like Bernie Madoff backing a ballot proposition claiming to protect investors. It's just not credible. It's like the Republicans yesterday voting against Wall Street reform while claiming the Democrats were trying to protect banksters-- even as the richest Republican crook in the House, Darrell Issa, admitted that conservative ideology drove his party to go too far in dismantling banking regulations in 1999.

And it isn't just me. Organizations such as the California Nurses Association, the Federation of Teachers, VoteVets.org, Consumers Union and the California Democratic Party all oppose Prop 17.


Editorials across the state have urged readers to vote no on Prop 17. The San Jose Mercury News calls Prop 17 “a special interest scam.” The San Francisco Chronicle says it’s “a daunting additional cost for those who are desperate to get coverage.” The LA Daily News wrote that Prop 17 is “a special-interest initiative, pure and simple,” and the Contra Costa Times said it’s “designed to fool voters.”

It’s going be hard to stop Prop 17, because insurance companies like Mercury have unlimited money. So I ask you to please get involved (and donate if you can).

Visit StopProp17.org for more information. To protect yourself, your family and your friends, tell them why Prop 17 is a deceptive initiative and VOTE NO ON PROP 17 ON JUNE 8TH. Dumping Mercury and signing up with a more reputable insurance company was only the first step for me. I'm registered to vote-- and I never miss an election.