Henry O Miller

There were calls from several quarters Tuesday for a comprehensive Insurance Department investigation into the collapse of Coastal Insurance Co., and one industry source said he had been informed that there will be an official inquiry. Meanwhile, it was learned that all California auto insurance policyholders will be assessed a surcharge of up to 1% on their premiums so that the state-appointed, industry-administered California Insurance Guarantee Assn.

The former chief executive officer of the failed Coastal Insurance Co., in sworn testimony Tuesday to a legislative panel, admitted mismanaging the company but denied "any plot or conspiracy" to skim funds from it, as charged last month by executives of Coastal affiliates. Harry O.

More than 93% of the $2 million collected through June 23 to support the auto insurance initiative introduced by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) came from companies headed by the same insurance executive, according to contribution reports made available Tuesday. Coastal Insurance Co. and its holding company, Advent, both headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, are headed by Harry O.

The chairman of the state Assembly's insurance committee has questioned whether Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie created "the appearance of impropriety" by naming a liquidator for the bankrupt Coastal Insurance Co. whose wife once worked for a man who later became the company's chief executive officer.

Based on his own polling, Harvey Englander, coordinator for Proposition 101, the November ballot initiative backed primarily by dissident insurance man Harry O. Miller, says Californians want lower auto insurance rates even if it means giving up some of their rights to recover damages. If Englander is right, Proposition 101 would seem to have excellent prospects at the ballot box. The measure promises a 50% cut in rates charged for the bodily injury component of auto insurance policies.

The former chief executive officer of the failed Coastal Insurance Co., in sworn testimony Tuesday to a legislative panel, admitted mismanaging the company but denied "any plot or conspiracy" to skim funds from it, as charged last month by executives of Coastal affiliates. Harry O.

The chairman of the state Assembly's insurance committee has questioned whether Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie created "the appearance of impropriety" by naming a liquidator for the bankrupt Coastal Insurance Co. whose wife once worked for a man who later became the company's chief executive officer.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft on Monday named veteran mediator Kenneth R. Feinberg as special master of the government's Sept. 11 compensation fund, making him the sole arbiter of how much money thousands of victims of the terrorist attacks will receive. Feinberg, a Washington attorney specializing in mediation, arbitration and negotiation, has held similar roles before, including that of special master in a multibillion-dollar Agent Orange lawsuit.

There were calls from several quarters Tuesday for a comprehensive Insurance Department investigation into the collapse of Coastal Insurance Co., and one industry source said he had been informed that there will be an official inquiry. Meanwhile, it was learned that all California auto insurance policyholders will be assessed a surcharge of up to 1% on their premiums so that the state-appointed, industry-administered California Insurance Guarantee Assn.

Based on his own polling, Harvey Englander, coordinator for Proposition 101, the November ballot initiative backed primarily by dissident insurance man Harry O. Miller, says Californians want lower auto insurance rates even if it means giving up some of their rights to recover damages. If Englander is right, Proposition 101 would seem to have excellent prospects at the ballot box. The measure promises a 50% cut in rates charged for the bodily injury component of auto insurance policies.

More than 93% of the $2 million collected through June 23 to support the auto insurance initiative introduced by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) came from companies headed by the same insurance executive, according to contribution reports made available Tuesday. Coastal Insurance Co. and its holding company, Advent, both headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, are headed by Harry O.