Insurance Rates

Health insurance: An article in Wednesday's Section A about safety-net health insurance rates gave an incorrect phone number for Anthem Blue Cross members to call about coverage. Anthem's customer service line can be reached at (866) 636-8991.

Squabbling intensified in Sacramento on Tuesday over whether Bay Area homeowners should pay 60% more than Los Angeles homeowners for earthquake insurance, possibly threatening legislative approval of a state earthquake insurance authority. The issue arose last month when Senate Democratic Leader Bill Lockyer of Hayward blocked Senate passage of the bill, complaining among other matters that Bay Area residents were being asked to pay too much.

State Farm Insurance Co., California's biggest auto insurer, intends to cut drivers' rates by 5.4%, an action that will pressure competitors to continue a downward price trend. The news Thursday means $133.8 million in premium savings for State Farm customers in California.

Amwest Insurance Group Inc. in Woodland Hills said it has agreed to a $1.93-million rate rollback as part of a Proposition 103 settlement. The property and casualty insurer said it entered into a stipulation and consent order with the California Department of Insurance that settles the rate rollback obligations of its subsidiaries, Amwest Surety Insurance Co. and Far West Insurance Co., that were required by the legislation.

With a key hearing on creating a state earthquake insurance agency scheduled today in Sacramento, new legislative language warns clearly that coverage will be less than in the past and that not all claims may be honored. Provisions newly included in a bill to conditionally establish the California Earthquake Authority require that policyholders be told in large print: "The coverage in the policy we are offering you with this renewal has been reduced."

Before the Northridge earthquake, 20th Century Insurance was the Wal-Mart of the auto insurance business in California. Its rock-bottom prices were an industry benchmark. Things have changed. Since the January 1994 quake, 20th Century has lost about 97,000 auto policies--or 9% of its car insurance business. That's because as the Woodland Hills insurer exited the homeowners business, it left behind some angry homeowners with quake claims and others with trouble finding new quake insurance.

Auto insurance companies, their profits boosted by a sharp drop in accident costs in recent years, overcharged Californians by more than $800 million last year, a consumer group contends in a study to be released today. Consumers Union--the Yonkers, N.Y.

Thousands of homeowners along the Santa Ana River could see their flood insurance rates drop if the federal government attends to one task: throwing away the old map that shows the river basin to be flood-prone. Sounds easy enough.

Thanks to Proposition 103, California's auto insurance rates have grown more slowly than those of all but four other states, according to the advocacy group organized to defend the 1988 insurance rate-cutting initiative. California actually saw a 4.

Flood insurance costs for thousands of homeowners along the Santa Ana River may be reduced at least temporarily, according to an Orange County congressman who met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Thursday. Such coverage has been mandated for residents, but recent channel widening and other improvements made along the river basin have diminished the threat of flooding, said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).