Coalition Supports Lawyers’ Insurance Initiative

Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, the Consumers Union and several other political and consumer groups Wednesday endorsed the insurance initiative backed by the California Trial Lawyers Assn. as a coalition of supporters was announced at news conferences in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.

Van de Kamp, noting that one of his own aides, Michael Strumwasser, assisted in drafting the initiative and that he had reviewed it before it was announced, described it as “the best, most comprehensive proposal for real insurance reform” among as many as five insurance initiatives that may appear on the November ballot.

“It will replace our antiquated system of non-regulation, of blind trust in insurance companies, of special favors for special interests,” the attorney general said. He noted that the initiative also would regulate health and other kinds of insurance beyond just auto insurance.

Judith Bell of the Consumers Union described it as “a giant step forward for California consumers.” Others endorsing it included California Common Cause, the National Insurance Consumer Organization, the National Council of Senior Citizens and the California Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Van de Kamp did not rule out endorsing the “Voter Revolt” initiative backed by consumer advocate Ralph Nader as well, although he said he found the trial lawyers’ initiative to be preferable. Bell said the Consumers Union is endorsing both initiatives without a preference for one or the other.

Van de Kamp and Bell criticized an insurance industry-sponsored initiative calling for establishment of a no-fault system of auto insurance.

Before the news conference, Voter Revolt coordinator Harvey Rosenfield issued a statement suggesting that Van de Kamp was allowing himself “to be used by the trial lawyers to help trick the public into thinking their initiative is the best solution for consumers.”

‘In No One’s Pocket’

A statement by the insurance industry initiative campaign charged it was a misnomer to characterize the rival initiative as consumer-oriented when it basically is financed by the Trial Lawyers Assn. and, to a lesser extent, by the California Banking Assn.

But Van de Kamp rebutted these suggestions, saying, “I’m in no one’s pocket on this issue.” He characterized the initiative, being advanced for the trial lawyers by an organization they fund, the Los Angeles-based Insurance Consumer Action Network, as primarily devoted to consumers and not lawyers’ interests.

Initiative drafter Strumwasser said, “There’s more here than a battle between interest groups.”

Trial lawyers President J. Gary Gwilliam, who joined the news conferences, expressed the hope that from now on the initiative will be known by its coalition support rather than just by its trial lawyer support.

Van de Kamp’s endorsement, which had been long expected, again put him on a collision course on the insurance issue with state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig, another Democrat who has been frequently mentioned as a likely rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1990. Honig supports the insurers’ no-fault initiative.

Honig and Van de Kamp were on opposite sides two years ago in the ballot fight over Proposition 51, the so-called “deep-pockets initiative” to limit legal liability.

Both then got massive free public exposure by appearing in television and other advertisements for their respective sides. The same thing is likely to happen this year, with estimates of total expenditures in the insurance initiative campaigns ranging as high as $50 million.