‘Intervention Team’ Will Watch Insurance Hearings

Formation of an “intervention team” of actuaries and financial experts to represent consumer interests in hearings by the state Insurance Department into rate rollback exemptions was announced Friday by Harvey Rosenfield, Proposition 103 chairman, and Conway Collis, a prospective candidate for state insurance commissioner in 1990.

Sutter Creek insurance consultant Mark Gerlach, a former rate analyst for the state Insurance Department, was named to serve as the paid executive director of the group, which will analyze and comment on insurance industry documents submitted to support exemptions from the 20% rate rollbacks from 1987 levels called for under Proposition 103.

The group applied Friday with Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie for intervenor status in the forthcoming hearings. Under one provision of Proposition 103, Gillespie may order the insurance companies to reimburse such intervenors if she finds that they substantially contributed to eventual rate decisions.

“We feel it’s essential that consumers have their own representation in these proceedings,” said Collis, a member of the state Board of Equalization who has Rosenfield’s support in his developing campaign for insurance commissioner.

Rosenfield said he also welcomes the participation of other consumer groups, such as Consumers Union and the Insurance Consumer Action Network, as intervenors in the hearings, although he noted that earlier in the week their leaders had said they lacked the resources to fully participate unless they were to get advance funding from insurers. Rosenfield said his initiative does not permit such advance funding.

Also named as experts assisting the Rosenfield-Collis group were San Diego actuary Clarence Atwood and Beverly Hills public accountant H. Les Kornblatt.