Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

3 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

4 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

4 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

4 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

4 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

4 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

5 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

5 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

5 days ago
Mercury Insurance Agrees to Pay California a Record $41M
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 2, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — Mercury Insurance Co. is ending its two-decade battle with California regulators over extra fees charged to customers by agreeing to pay the state more than $41 million, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Wednesday. He said it’s the largest property and casualty penalty and interest payment in the history of the state Insurance Department’s history.
The settlement came after the state Supreme Court last month declined to hear the company’s appeal from a lower court decision.
The company said it is the fourth largest private passenger automobile insurer in California, with assets over $4 billion. It also provides automobile insurance in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.
A state appeals court in May reinstated a $27.6 million fine issued to Mercury by the Department of Insurance in 2015 for allegedly charging its customers illegal fees.
The department said Mercury allowed its auto insurance agents to charge up to $150 in unapproved fees on top of state-approved premiums. The company collected more than $27 million in fees on more than 180,000 transactions from 1999 to 2004, the department said, though Mercury argued that the costs were legal broker fees.
A judge in Southern California’s Orange County overturned the fine in 2016, but the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that Mercury agents were not brokers and as a result could not charge the fees.
Mercury advertised that its rates were lower than competing insurance companies, without disclosing that it charged alleged illegal broker fees on top of the rates, Lara said. That gave agents an incentive to place policies with Mercury, even if a competitor’s policy would have been cheaper for the consumer.

Mercury Also Settles Allegation of False Advertising

“Mercury’s illegal actions misled consumers and undercut competitors, which gave them an unfair advantage in the insurance marketplace,” Lara said in a statement.

“Mercury’s illegal actions misled consumers and undercut competitors, which gave them an unfair advantage in the insurance marketplace.” — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara
The $41.2 million settlement includes an additional $8.1 million in interest plus an additional $5.5 million payment to settle an allegation of false advertising that had not yet gone to trial, Lara said. That stems from the state’s argument that Mercury advertised its premiums were lower than other insurers, though they were actually higher because of the alleged illegal fees.
“This was a hard fought legal battle to protect consumers … and make sure all insurers play by the rules in California. No insurance company is above the law,” Lara said in a statement.
Mercury in an emailed statement said the actual fine assessed to close the case is $500,000 because it already paid the original fine of $27.6 million. The company said the rest of the money was for interest and costs associated with the case.
The company said it “decided to settle this case so we can move forward” and that the settlement was in the best interests of its customers, employees and other stakeholders.
Mercury added that “the fees at the heart of this dispute were charged and collected by independent brokers for the services they provided to their customers.”
Most of the money will go to California’s general fund. However, nearly $5 million will go to reimburse a special insurance fund used to enforce state insurance laws, meaning Mercury paid the state’s legal and court costs, Lara said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

DON'T MISS

Trump’s World Liberty Token Falls in First Day of Trading

DON'T MISS

Bessent Expects Supreme Court to Uphold Legality of Trump’s Tariffs but Eyes Plan B

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

DON'T MISS

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

UP NEXT

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

UP NEXT

California Schools Reverse Truancy Trends. Improving Reading Scores Could Be Next

UP NEXT

High-Speed Rail Hits a New Snag as Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Expedite Construction

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Hearing Ends Without Ruling On Trump’s Firing Of Fed Governor Cook

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Launches New Task Force To Clear CA Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

UP NEXT

Fresno vs. Clovis: Which City Is Cheaper to Live in Right Now?

UP NEXT

Kim Harvey Named Executive Producer of ‘CBS Evening News’

UP NEXT

US CDC Director Ousted Weeks Into Job

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

12 hours ago

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

12 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

2 days ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

2 days ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

2 days ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

2 days ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

2 days ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

2 days ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

2 days ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

2 days ago

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

Tulare County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting that left a man injured in Porterville on Monday afternoon. Deputies were call...

10 hours ago

A man was hospitalized after being shot Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, afternoon in Porterville, and Tulare County sheriff’s detectives are investigating. (Tulare County SO)
10 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

Zach Witkoff, Co-Founder and CEO of World Liberty Financial, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump pose before they ring the opening bell to celebrate the closing of ALT5’s $1.5 billion offering and adoption of its $WLFI Treasury Strategy at the Nasdaq Market, in New York City, U.S., August 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Trump’s World Liberty Token Falls in First Day of Trading

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent pays his bill during a Labor Day visit to McLean Family Restaurant in McLean, Virginia, U.S., September 1, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
10 hours ago

Bessent Expects Supreme Court to Uphold Legality of Trump’s Tariffs but Eyes Plan B

Former New York City Mayor and former lawyer for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani walks outside United States District Court in Manhattan, where a judge will consider a request by two Georgia election workers to whom he owes $148 million for defamation to hold him in civil contempt for failing to turn over his assets, in New York City, U.S., January 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg departs with other activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, from the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. The Sagrada Familia is seen in the background. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
2 days ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend