Mercury Lawsuit and Advertising Launch Shows Prop 17 Backer Will Stop At Nothing In Multi-Million Dollar Lying Campaign

Rosenfield Challenges Head of Mercury to Abide by Court Results and Agree Not to Engage in False Advertising

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is a statement by Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, in response to Mercury Insurance Company's announcement last night that it would sue to silence the arguments of consumer groups opposing the initiative and also begin its long awaited multi-million dollar advertising campaign to pass Prop 17:

We look forward to seeing Mercury Insurance Company in court. For months, Mercury has been lying to the public, to state officials and to the news media about its June ballot initiative. Indeed, for more than ten years, the Department of Insurance and the courts have repeatedly concluded that Mercury's proposal would create a new rating factor – the consideration of prior insurance history - that is currently illegal. Now the California Attorney General confirms that auto insurance rates will go up for many Californians under Prop. 17. Yet Mercury continues to lie by claiming that Prop 17 will not increase premiums and that Prop 17 does not change anything for motorists. The fact is that today, under current law, if you stop driving you won't pay more when you restart your insurance coverage. If Mercury's Prop 17 passes, insurance companies will be allowed to charge a lot more to good drivers who didn't need insurance when they weren't driving, or who missed a single payment, or who chose to forego coverage because of the economy or illness.

Public records show that Mercury Insurance and its mega-rich leader George Joseph have brazenly flouted California law, state regulations and court orders for years. Yet now they are trying to enlist the judicial branch in their attempt to deceive the public through a frivolous lawsuit, at the same time that they are going to spread more lies through tens of millions of dollars in deceptive advertising. Joseph is starting early because he knows he has money on his side, but he doesn't have the truth.

Mercury's lawsuit will be an opportunity to obtain yet another court decision for the voters to consider showing that Mercury is lying and that Prop 17 will allow insurance companies to suck more money out of our pockets to increase their profits.

Today, I call upon George Joseph, the Chairman of Mercury Insurance Company, to agree to abide by the decision of the courts when it comes to its advertising campaign. If Mercury's arguments are rejected in court, Joseph, Mercury Insurance and their paid spokespeople should agree that they will cease their efforts to deceive California voters and will not engage in any form of advertising that includes arguments rejected by the courts.

Mercury and George Joseph may have millions to spend on advertisements and public relations flacks like Kirk West (who also worked for the insurance industry to oppose Prop 103 in 1988), but its going to take more money than even Mercury has, to fool California voters into passing a law that, according to Mercury's own numbers, will allow insurance companies to impose surcharges of thousands of dollars on many Californians.

SOURCE Campaign for Consumer Rights