Car Insurance

Will Prop 17 save you money on auto insurance?

(ABC) - Proposition 17, the auto insurance measure on the June 8 ballot, is designed to lower auto insurance rates and increase competition, but opponents say it could actually raise rates.

If you drive in California, you have to have auto insurance, and who doesn’t want to pay less for that?

Supporters of Prop 17 say the measure will save you money.

“With this additional discount, it will be a great thing because competition will be even better. The consumer will benefit,” said Joe Jimenez, who owns an independent insurance agency in Orange County.

He says Prop 17 will allow companies to consider a driver’s history of insurance coverage. If you’ve been with your company for a while, you’re probably getting a discount for continuous coverage or what is known as a persistency discount. Prop 17 would allow you to carry this discount over.

“Under current law, if you have insurance with a particular company and you go to another company, you lose the discount, and basically you get penalized,” said Jimenez.

“I think this is a proposition that has no place on the ballot,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog.

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