A class certification case involving auto insurance policyholders in California has been denied by a district court. The plaintiffs argued that National General Insurance Co., along with other insurance corporations such as Integon National Insurance Co., MIC General Insurance Corp., and Personal Express Insurance Co., unjustifiably charged them higher premiums. The lawsuit alleged that this violated the California Unfair Competition Law and fell under a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

According to the plaintiffs, all of them were categorized as good drivers, thereby meriting a Good Driver Discount (GDD) policy from defendants’ control group with the lowest rates. However, the insurers failed to extend these low-rate GDD policies to them.

This issue extends to times when the policyholders renewed their insurance policies. They claimed that had they been offered the lower premium insurance policies, they would have purchased them.

The court stated that the defendant insurers are part of a control group as defined by the statute if they are acting in an aligned manner regarding ratemaking, underwriting, etc. They added that Section 1861.16(b) was designed to address corporate entities manipulating the GDD insurance market and wasn’t meant to target groups of insurers in general.

Due to the diverse opinions on the meaning of control group, the court ruled the Section 1861.16(b) is ambiguous. On this matter, authorization in a separate statute for insurers within a control group to act in concert between or among themselves is meant for ratemaking purposes, and does not define the term “control group. The court also ruled that plaintiff Sheila Lee had no standing to sue.

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In conclusion, after examining the case, the court denied class certification. While this case may not be applicable anymore, policyholders who want to further inquire about rates and policies can get in touch with their respective insurance providers. For California citizens, getting through to government-assisted departments can be made easy through the internet, such as eddcaller.com. This site provides useful information on how to contact a live person at EDD California. In addition, it serves as a hub for any clarifications regarding how to get through to EDD, fostering a more straightforward communication process between public service departments and citizens.