The Big Lie of California's Proposition 17

The commercials say that this proposition will give people the option of taking their "longevity discount" with them when they change auto insurance carriers. They tout this as something we cannot do right now. In reality the current law specifically allows this discount.

Here is the text of the current law about the discount: "...insureds are able to claim a discount for regular purchases of insurance from any carrier offering this discount irrespective of whether or not the insured has previously purchased from a given carrier...". That means you can get a discount for "persistency" from any auto insurance company that is willing to offer one, even if your "longevity" was with another company.

The wording in Prop 17 says essentially the same thing: "...an insurer may offer applicants or insureds an additional discount for a policy...based on the length of time the applicant or insured has been continuously insured for bodily injury liability coverage with one or more insurers, affiliated or not."

So what is the difference between what is now on the books and the new law?

It will actually be harder to qualify for any "longevity discount" under the new law. In other words, it will be easier for an insurance company to say that you DON'T qualify for the discount and charge you a higher rate. But then, considering the fact that proposition 17 is backed by a major auto insurance company, why am I not surprised?

Under the current law, you could let your policy lapse up to 90 days for any reason, (including not paying your premium), and still qualify for the discount.

Under Prop 17, if your policy lapses for non-payment of premium, FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME, (even just one day), the insurance carrier can disallow the discount and charge you a higher rate.

Under the current law, if you serve in the armed forces outside of the state of California, you can come back to California and buy auto insurance within two years and still qualify for the discount.

Under Prop 17, if you serve in the armed forces, the only way you can qualify to get the discount when you get back is if you are deployed OUTSIDE THE US. That means our military personnel that serve even part of their time at a posting in the United States would NOT be allowed to have this discount when they return to California.

I don't know about you, but I don't think our members of the military should be penalized because they are required to serve their country.