T he report, obtained through the state Public Records Act, alleges that Mercury Insurance Group may have violated Proposition 103, the landmark consumer protection law approved by voters in 1988. The measure limited the cost of policies and made civil rights and antitrust laws apply to the insurance industry. The documents, which cover the firm's practices from the mid-1990s to 2004, are the state's most recent completed investigation of the company. [3]

Mercury Insurance Corp. has a history of discriminatory practices against an array of groups, including military personnel, that led to unfair surcharges or outright denial of coverage, according to a 275-page report released by the Department of Insurance. "The breadth of Mercury's discrimination against people is really astonishing to me," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog and author of Proposition 103, the 1988 voter-approved law that governs insurance rates. [1]

Prop 17 would overturn existing consumer protections and would allow Mercury and other insurers to charge higher rates to people who have allowed their auto insurance to lapse. [4]

Several years ago Mercury Insurance wanted to raise rates on customers who had a lapse in their insurance coverage. [2]