Insurance

Ernie Tamminga was in Tucson recently for a family reunion. While there, he rented a car. And, like all rental-car customers, he was offered insurance by the company, Dollar Rent a Car, in case of an accident. Tamminga, 69, of Goleta had done his homework. He knew that insurance provided by rental firms, which can run more than $25 a day, is often unnecessary. Coverage you already have for your own vehicle should be sufficient, not to mention extra coverage provided by many credit-card issuers.

Re "Anthem plans average rate hike of 18%," Business, Nov. 28 Anthem Blue Cross' spokesman may blame his company's rising costs on the economic downturn, which he says causes people to avoid buying insurance. But as a longtime Anthem policyholder, that's not the reason I've thought about dropping coverage. Plain and simple, it's Anthem's double-digit rate increases. Nothing else I purchase increases in cost this much. Not too long ago, I received a tiny refund check because Anthem failed to meet the minimum requirement that 80% of premiums go toward medical costs.

Re "A health mandate that is already a burden," June 19 The article on emergency room costs is right on point. Despite conservatives' angst over healthcare reform's individual mandate, the fact is that we already have a major healthcare mandate: the requirement that taxpayers and the insured pay for the uninsured, many of whom are - as Mitt Romney once said - irresponsible free riders. They don't buy insurance, but they expect others to pay for their healthcare needs.

Re "Insurers cry foul as state official hires foe," April 3 I had to chuckle when I read the suggestion by Loyola Law Professor Jessica Levinson that California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones' use of insurance industry critic Consumer Watchdog to review premium hikes "raises serious questions about a conflict of interest. " A conflict of interest arises when industry insiders and lobbyists are hired by the public agencies that are supposed to regulate them. Whether it entails an Elizabeth Warren looking into Wall Street's fraudulent practices or Consumer Watchdog examining price gouging by the health insurance industry, individuals and groups who place the public interest above corporate greed are a prerequisite for good government.

Insurance is one of those products you hope you never have to use. But if you do have to, you expect it to be there for you when you need it. At the very least, you don't want your insurer throwing curveballs at you with a lot of rigmarole about terms and conditions that you weren't even told about in the first place. That's the situation Dudley Johnson, 57, of Altadena found himself in after trying to get Citibank to make good on its Credit Protector Program, which promises to safeguard people who lose their jobs by "freezing payments to your Citi account for up to two years.