Free Republic

Mercury Insurance Group, based in Los Angeles, confirmed today that 165 people were laid off in its claims division as well as some administrative staff. A company spokesman said some of the jobs were in Brea, but he could not immediately confirm how many.

Denise Jack and other car owners thought they had it bad when a 75-foot retaining wall in Washington Heights in northern Manhattan collapsed on May 12, burying their parked vehicles beneath untold tons of debris. But their ordeal was actually just beginning. Their cars remain buried there today, and none are expected to be unearthed until the rest of the wall is stabilized and the rubble removed - up to a year from now. Until then, they are caught in the world of insurance limbo. Mrs. Jack's policy, for example, has liability coverage that does not cover landslides. For her...

<p>On any given day, Juan Francisco Aparicio will drive his children to the doctor's office, his wife to the grocery and himself to work. Yet, he doesn't have a drivers license.</p> <p>He can't apply for one because he doesn't have a Social Security card, which he can't get because he is not a legal resident. He moved to Illinois seven years ago from Sacatecas, Mexico, and, like hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers who lack a license, drives a car anyway. Every day.</p>

This is a letter I wrote to the Department of Insurance several days ago. Please act on this information and get INVOLVED! -JEL To Whom It May Concern: Automobile insurance becomes an oppressive taxation when the State orders the compelled benefit onto the People. The benefit discussed here is "Reduced Automotive Liability". When insurance companies can raise rates based on a buyer's consumer credit rating, it is an act of discrimination as well as an act of tyranny and oppression because the State ordered the People to receive the benefit Without controlling the Corporation, writing the benefits/policies. Credit ratings have...