Proposition 103 Insurance ‘Mess’

After reading the column by Jay Angoff “Quit California? Don’t Bet on It” (Op-Ed Page, Dec. 1), I decided it is time to let my opinion be heard.

Angoff, who says he is a counsel to the National Insurance Consumer Organization, neglected to mention some very key issues in his article:

Florida voters voted in an insurance initiative very similar to Proposition 103. This created chaos in the insurance market as many insurers stopped writing auto insurance and many others left the state entirely. That, faced with an insurance crisis the state legislature passed a balanced no-fault insurance bill. (This allowed the rate reductions that the public wanted and still allowed the insurers to maintain a level of profit that allowed them to do business in the state.) That Proposition 103 was tagged as a 20% reduction from the November, 1987, insurance rate, and that is what the general public in California voted on and passed. And most of the hidden measures contained in Proposition 103 were never made public to the voters.

It is a sad day when our state legislators are so tied to their campaign funds that they dare not offend anyone by doing their job and addressing such issues prior to a revolt.

I guess it’s time for a real voter revolt. We should elect people to our Legislature who are responsive to the people. What have legislators been doing for the past 10 years while our insurance premiums advanced 250% higher as compared to rates in Miami?

DAN DeCARO

Covina