The Buzz: ‘Cougar’ Growls Over Auto Insurance Measure
Opponents of Proposition 17 have leveled yet another charge of discrimination against Mercury Insurance, the auto insurer bankrolling the June 8 ballot measure to allow companies to use coverage history in determining insurance rates.
The latest alleged victims? Cougars.
They don’t mean Mercury Cougars. They don’t even mean big cats. They’re talking about women of a certain age married to younger men.
Cougar dating expert Lucia – apparently no last name needed – headlined a Los Angeles news conference Thursday at Mercury Insurance on Wilshire Boulevard, sponsored by the No on 17 campaign.
Also on hand: Consumer Watchdog’s executive director, Douglas Heller, plus more cougars and their “cubs.”
During a Department of Insurance investigation in the late 1990s into Mercury’s rate-setting practices, former insurance agents said they were told not to approve policies for older women married to younger men, as well as diabetics, military personnel and drivers thought to be of Middle Eastern origin.
A Mercury spokesman dismissed the allegations Thursday as hearsay from more than 12 years ago and said the company doesn’t discriminate against anyone.
Email the author at: tvanoot@sacbee.com
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