Why Are Insurance Companies Fighting Proposition 89?

On this fine Sunday, I recommend you head over to California Progress Report and read this whole article:

According to the good government watchdog group, the Foundation for Consumer and Taxpayer Rights (FCTR), 59% of the contributions against Proposition 89, designed to clean up the role of money in California politics, comes from the multi-billion dollar insurance industry, which just happens to be the one of the most prolific political donors in the state to candidates and officeholders.

The Contributions So Far

According to their figures, crunched from information from the California Secretary of State’s office, $415,000 of the $700,000 donated to the No on 89 political action committee has come directly from the insurance industry, and not in small chunks. This is only the beginning of what will be tens of millions of dollars that will be raised and spent against this measure by the special interests who have mastered the pay to play scheme in Sacramento. We have seen record fundraisers this August in the final month of the legislative session while bills die or make it to the Governor’s desk.

Contributions include:

* $200,000 from California’s 3rd largest auto insurer, Mercury Insurance, and its CEO George Joseph;
* $100,000 from Zenith, the largest private workers compensation insurer in California; and
* $50,000 from Farmers, the state’s 2nd largest auto and homeowners insurance company.
* Other insurance contributors against Prop 89 include IBA (Insurance Brokers and Agents) West, The Doctors Company and Fireman’s Fund.

Go read the whole article.