Taxi Owners Demand Tally of Insurance Rates : Transportation: Some independents are paying twice the amount stated or discover their coverage is lacking.

Angry independent cab owners have demanded an accounting of the thousands of dollars they paid in premiums for a group auto insurance plan in the wake of local transportation officials having threatened to ground 65% of San Diego’s taxi fleet for inadequate insurance coverage.

The controversy began in September but reached a boiling point this week, when some small independent owners--those owning one or two cabs--learned they had been paying premiums that were twice the amount quoted in the group policy.

Despite paying $1.4 million in premiums over the past year, more than 200 taxi owners learned last month they were driving around with no liability coverage for the first $35,000 in damages.

Metropolitan Transit Development Board officials threatened to pull the owners’ operating permits unless they obtain full insurance coverage by Feb. 24.

An MTDB official said the cabs were operating without coverage for the first $35,000 in damages because the policy called for owners to be self-insured for that amount.

Over the past two weeks, the owners have had a series of meetings with Parviz Ebrahimi, owner of Coast Cab and head of San Diego Transit Management, Inc., holder of the policy that supposedly provides coverage to the 615 independent cabs threatened with being taken off the road.

There are 888 registered cabs in San Diego.

Most independent owners became affiliated with San Diego Transit Management about four years ago, hoping to reduce mounting insurance costs by buying insurance as a group. But the coalition was in peril of falling apart this week, when owners learned that Ebrahimi and San Diego Transit Management had been charging them three different premiums.

The issue will be debated Thursday at an open meeting of the MTDB. Ebrahimi is expected to present to the board a modified policy that includes complete insurance coverage for the independent owners.

Angry independent owners said they will also press for a complete accounting from Ebrahimi of how he spent the money he collected from them and for an explanation of the different premiums.

“There is something very strange about this. For the past two years we thought that everyone was paying the same premium. Imagine our surprise when we found out that wasn’t true,” said Houshang Nahavandian, owner of American Cab Co.

John A. DiFalco, senior vice president of Insurance Company of the West, said his company issued a policy to Ebrahimi and San Diego Transit Management that called for a premium of $1,700 per vehicle.

However, Nahavandian said Ebrahimi billed him for $2,600 per vehicle. In addition, Nahavandian said he was required to give Ebrahimi a $15,000 deposit. Bess Burnett, part owner of Co-Op Cab, said Ebrahimi billed her company $3,400 per vehicle.

“Whatever they paid over the $1,700, they didn’t pay it to us. We’re only billing for $1,700 per vehicle,” said DiFalco.

On Monday, Ebrahimi admitted billing the owners different amounts, saying it was necessary for some owners to pay higher premiums because the agreement with the insurance company calls for a continuous $40,000 pool to pay claims under $35,000.

“People who pay $3,400 don’t pay a deductible but have dollar-one coverage,” Ebrahimi said. “The insurance pays all claims, but we have to reimburse the company the first $35,000 that is paid in damages. That money comes out of the pool.”

Other fleet owners, who have fewer than 10 cabs, pay $2,600 per vehicle because they have a $5,000 deductible, Ebrahimi said.

But in a telephone interview on Monday, DiFalco said the policy purchased by Ebrahimi calls for a $35,000 deductible, not $5,000.

Another group of owners, those with more than 10 cabs, pay only $1,700 per cab because they “committed themselves to pay the first $35,000 in damages,” he added. These owners theoretically have a $35,000 self-insured retention for each vehicle.

Nahavandian complained that Ebrahimi modified the policy to include a $35,000 deductible and self-insurance plan without consulting other cab owners. He said that most independent owners are unaware of the modification because they have never received copies of the policy.

MTDB officials opposed the self-insurance plan because then Insurance Company of the West would not be legally required to pay for any damages under $35,000. Under the $35,000 deductible plan, the company pays all damages and collects the deductible amount from the insured.

DiFalco acknowledged the changes, but added that they were “made at the request of the policy holder,” San Diego Transit Management.

“We’ve already changed the policy three or four times. Frankly, it’s getting to be a pain in the neck. We’re getting ready to change it again,” DiFalco said.

This is not the first time that Ebrahimi has acted unilaterally in modifying the insurance policy.

Last Dec. 20, the MTDB’s insurance consultant, attorney Jacques J. Kirch, complained that San Diego Transit Management changed its policy without first obtaining the board’s approval.

On Thursday, independent cab owners are expected to crowd the MTDB hearing room, as they attempt to get answers from Ebrahimi about how their premiums were spent.