Mercury General Corp

Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp. said its second-quarter profit fell 6%. Mercury, which sells mostly personal auto and homeowners insurance, reported earnings of $73.6 million, or $1.35 a share, down from $78.1 million, or $1.43, a year earlier. Net premiums written over the quarter rose 13% to $730 million. Wall Street's consensus was $1.26 a share, according to Thomson Financial.

SACRAMENTO - State regulators have ordered Mercury General Corp. to cut its homeowners insurance rates by 8.2%, instead of the increase in premiums that the company had sought. As a result, the Los Angeles insurer is contesting the ruling in court. The rate cut was announced by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "The rate reduction provided for in this decision would offer much-needed financial relief for homeowners and would no doubt help consumers keep more of their hard-earned dollars in today's tight economy," Jones said in a statement Tuesday.

Mercury General Corp., which primarily provides homeowners and auto insurance, said it swung to a loss for the first quarter because of nearly $60 million in losses on investments and a decline in written premiums. Los Angeles-based Mercury lost $4 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a profit of $60.5 million, or $1.11 a share, last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of $1.01 a share. Mercury attributed the loss to $59.9 million in losses tied to investments.

SACRAMENTO - A Los Angeles insurance executive's drive to boost his company's fortunes by seeking authority to offer a new auto coverage discount got trounced by voters. Proposition 33, bankrolled by Mercury General Corp. Chairman George Joseph, lost with 45.4% of the vote to opposition of 54.6% with all California precincts reporting. The measure would have allowed insurers such as Mercury to give low-risk drivers a new discount when they switch companies. Opponents, led by Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica activists who passed the landmark Proposition 103 auto insurance reform initiative a quarter century ago, denounced Proposition 33 as a cynical maneuver by billionaire Joseph to mainly help one firm.

Mercury General Corp. has requested an auto insurance rate hike one month after receiving regulatory approval for a 6.9% boost. California Department of Insurance filings that were made public Monday show L.A.-based Mercury has asked regulators for an additional 4.1% to 6.9% increase, depending on the type of coverage. Company officials could not be reached for comment. Rate changes of less than 7% do not require a regulatory hearing and usually are approved.

Mercury General Corp., a major automobile insurer in California, reported that its third-quarter operating earnings rose 3% to $40.6 million, or 73 cents a diluted share, up from 71 cents in the year-ago quarter but well short of analysts' estimates of 82 cents. After capital gains and losses, net income rose to $41.4 million or 75 cents a share from $40.8 million, 74 cents, a year ago.

State regulators are accusing subsidiaries of Mercury General Corp., California's No. 4 auto insurer, of defrauding consumers by misrepresenting its premiums, widely advertised as low. An enforcement action filed late Tuesday by the Department of Insurance is the latest twist in a long-running legal and legislative battle over a disputed sales practice that has already landed Mercury in hot water.

SACRAMENTO - State regulators have ordered Mercury General Corp. to cut its homeowners insurance rates by 8.2%, instead of the increase in premiums that the company had sought. As a result, the Los Angeles insurer is contesting the ruling in court. The rate cut was announced by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "The rate reduction provided for in this decision would offer much-needed financial relief for homeowners and would no doubt help consumers keep more of their hard-earned dollars in today's tight economy," Jones said in a statement Tuesday.

Mercury Files for Rate Cut: Mercury General Corp. said it has applied to the state Insurance Department for reductions that will average about 1.7% on its auto insurance policies. The cuts would affect customers of the company's Mercury Insurance Co. and Mercury Casualty Co. units, California's ninth- and 10th-largest auto insurers, respectively. For certain new customers, the cuts would be as much as 20%.

For more than two decades, Mercury General Corp. Chairman George Joseph has been sparring with consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield over California's landmark automobile insurance law, Proposition 103. They've battled in the courts, the Legislature and the media over complex regulatory questions that affect billions of dollars in premiums paid by the state's 23.7 million licensed drivers. Now they're squaring off over a Mercury Insurance-sponsored initiative on the June ballot.

It was big. It was bright. It was controversial. And now it's gone. On Thursday, CBS Outdoor Inc. took down a billboard graphic -- black text on a screaming yellow background -- reading: "Consumer Watchdog says: 'You Can't Trust Mercury Insurance.' " The towering Mid-Wilshire billboard was in a prime spot for attracting attention, at least from Mercury Insurance's parent company, Mercury General Corp. It sat about half a mile east of corporate headquarters. Consumer Watchdog's billboard was taken down because Mercury, California's third-largest auto insurer and ninth-largest homeowners insurer, complained to CBS Outdoor, said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog.

Mercury General Corp., a Los Angeles-based low-cost insurer, today is expected to announce rate cuts for about 1.7 million of its automobile and homeowner insurance customers, mainly in Southern California. Most of the cuts will go to automobile policyholders and, perhaps, offset at least a little pain from weekly hikes in gasoline prices. The owners of 1.5 million cars will shave 3% off their annual bills, about $30 per vehicle, according to the California Department of Insurance.

Mercury General Corp., which primarily provides homeowners and auto insurance, said it swung to a loss for the first quarter because of nearly $60 million in losses on investments and a decline in written premiums. Los Angeles-based Mercury lost $4 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a profit of $60.5 million, or $1.11 a share, last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of $1.01 a share. Mercury attributed the loss to $59.9 million in losses tied to investments.

Mercury General Corp. said Monday that founder George Joseph would step down as chief executive of the Los Angeles-based insurance company, handing the reins over to 41-year-old President and Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Tirador. "At 85, I thought it was time for a younger person to take the baton," Joseph said in an interview. Joseph, who founded the company in 1962, will continue to serve as chairman.

Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp. said its second-quarter profit fell 6%. Mercury, which sells mostly personal auto and homeowners insurance, reported earnings of $73.6 million, or $1.35 a share, down from $78.1 million, or $1.43, a year earlier. Net premiums written over the quarter rose 13% to $730 million. Wall Street's consensus was $1.26 a share, according to Thomson Financial.

Woodland Hills-based WellPoint Health Networks Inc. announced that the sale of 13 million shares of its common stock in a public offering began at $28 per share. . . . Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp., an auto insurance holding company, agreed to buy Oklahoma City-based American Fidelity Insurance Co. for nearly $35 million. . . . Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. said the Nevada Gaming Commission approved its $3-billion acquisition of Bally Entertainment Corp. . . .

As state regulators probe alleged misconduct in the insurance industry, California's largest auto insurance broker is being accused of funneling millions of dollars in sales to a single insurer in exchange for commissions. A lawsuit claims that Bay Area-based Auto Insurance Specialists, which does business throughout Southern California, put its own financial interests ahead of those of its customers by collecting undisclosed "contingent commissions" on policies written for Mercury General Corp.