Steadfast Believer in Numbers

Ranked by Forbes magazine as the 283rd-richest American, with a net worth of $1.2 billion, Joseph has found that wealth helps when it comes to politics. He and Mercury have given more than $7.1 million to state and federal political campaigns since 1989, including those of Sacramento power brokers from both major parties, and successfully lobbied for legislation over the years.

"This industry is not that easy to understand," he said. "It's good to have a few people up there you can spend some time with."

Joseph's critics see another motive for the hefty contributions -- a desire to get his own way.

"He is a stubborn, stubborn man who has all the money in the world and refuses to take no for an answer," said Norman Goldman, a Los Angeles lawyer who defeated Mercury in a class-action suit over its marketing practices. "That's dangerous."

Consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield, who wrote Proposition 103, said, "The only way you can applaud a guy like this is if you measure a man by how much money he is able to accumulate."

Auto Insurance Report's Sullivan says such characterizations are off-point; if it was simply more riches he wanted, Joseph could have declared victory long ago. "George Joseph is driven by things far beyond money," he said.

Though Proposition 103 turned Joseph and Rosenfield into adversaries, Sullivan said, the law was "the best thing that ever happened to Mercury." The company grew dramatically after the initiative's passage, he noted, as many of its rivals fled the state.

"George should be sending Harvey cases of wine," Sullivan said.

Joseph remains coy about his next move, declining to commit to challenging Garamendi's effort at upcoming hearings or in court.

But he clearly has not been deterred from his views.

He said private polling showed strong support for continuous-coverage discounts, even when voters were told that the insurance industry was backing them. And he said the consumer benefits of Proposition 103 have been overblown.

Rosenfield and others credit the law with saving California drivers more than $23 billion, but Joseph said insurance rates are down since the late 1980s because of safer vehicles, anti-theft devices and a state court ruling that cut down on accident-related suits.

Beaming as he pointed to a thick spreadsheet, Joseph noted that in 1988, 50% of Mercury's property claims in California also involved bodily injury claims. In 2004, he said, that number had fallen to 36%.

"I will bet $1 million that you can't prove to a qualified actuary that Prop. 103 has saved people anything like $23 billion," he said. "If Garamendi believes it's true, if Harvey believes it's true, that offer is open."