Meanwhile, insurance money has poured into Schwarzenegger's campaign accounts. Since he jumped into the recall campaign in 2003, he has collected about $4.4 million in donations from insurance interests, state records show.
Schwarzenegger promised as a candidate in 2003 that he would purge the capital of powerful "special interests." But he pleased environmental activists in 2003 by hiring one of their own, Terry Tamminen, who was among the governor's most influential aides before resigning last month. And Richard Costigan, a former lobbyist for the California Chamber of Commerce, the state's chief business advocate, is the administration's top liaison to the Legislature.
Now Schwarzenegger has elevated insurance interests to senior levels of his government, giving them too much influence, in the view of consumer groups.
The governor's aides insist that the industry receives no special treatment. If consumer groups don't see the governor's staff, it is because they haven't asked, they said.
Consumer activists said they've seen no point in contacting insurance advisor Webb.
"It's pretty much assumed that under this administration, we were not going to get anything meaningful signed," said Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a nonprofit group that offers information to the public on insurance matters.
Bach added: "As an advisor, it's incumbent on her to seek us out."
For Dunmoyer's part, his involvement in insurance issues is limited to offering "expertise" to colleagues inside government who are responsible for insurance matters, said Adam Mendelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications director.
"No industry or organization gets a more sympathetic ear from this administration to the exclusion of another industry or organization," Mendelsohn said.
But insurers see in the governor a reliable ally. Stephen Lilienthal, chief executive officer of CNA insurance companies, wrote in a June letter soliciting money for Schwarzenegger's reelection that the governor "has been a critical first line of defense" for the industry.
CNA, a commercial insurer, has spent $275,000 lobbying in Sacramento since Schwarzenegger took office.
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Insurance interests have long been a formidable player in Sacramento, adept at derailing or neutralizing unfriendly legislation. The Schwarzenegger administration is helping.
