USAA SUPPORTS THE 2012 AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE DISCOUNT ACT
Sacramento, CA– USAA the provider of choice for financial and insurance services for the military and their family – supports the California initiative that will allow consumers to control their loyalty discount.
“The sponsors brought stakeholders together, including USAA, who opposed an earlier version – Prop 17 – to write a more inclusive initiative that will make it possible for consumers, including those who lack insurance today, to shop for insurance coverage at a more competitive price,” said Mike Mattoch, the legislative counsel for the Western Region for USAA.
Mattoch, who is also a former Chief Counsel to the State Assembly Committee on Insurance, said the initiative being sponsored by the American Agents Alliance, gives California consumers the latitude to purchase insurance that is allowed in virtually every other state.
“Those who have followed the law get a discount whether or not they want to buy insurance from a new company,” Mattoch said. “Those who have not been able to maintain insurance, such as those in the military, students, those who have lost their jobs, those who have had insurance only part time in previous years, are provided greater opportunity under this initiative to purchase insurance at a competitive price.”
Regarding Consumer Watchdog’s new initiative that was filed yesterday on health insurance reform, and includes a poison pill that says loyalty discounts cannot be considered when writing new automobile policies, Mattoch raises the concern as to whether or not it is constitutionally infirm. “They knowingly included a caveat that targeted automobile insurance when the policies and statutes involved are related solely to health care, for no other purpose than to maintain the status quo, which limits consumer choice when purchasing auto insurance.”
