Yesterday consumer advocates held a press conference on the steps of the New Jersey statehouse to draw attention to a major problem: auto insurers’ use of unfair factors to discriminate against drivers and charge them higher premiums. As a result, people have wound up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more for auto insurance, … Continued
Groups Urge State Insurance Departments to Investigate Racial Bias in Insurance Claims Handling After a recent New York Times investigation detailed extensive allegations of discrimination against Black policyholders in both its insurance claims handling and its anti-fraud efforts, CFA and the Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) wrote to all state Insurance Commissioners, urging them to investigate racial bias in … Continued
Over the past several decades, income inequality has greatly increased as consumers struggle and corporate executives make massive profits. During the COVID-19 pandemic this trend continued and one industry saw especially large gains-auto insurance companies. A review of auto insurer executive compensation found that in 2020 and 2021 CEOs took home hundreds of millions of … Continued
CFA Adds Key Staff for Investor and Consumer Protection Roles This month the Federation announced the appointments of Micah Hauptman as the new Director of Investor Protection and Erin Witte as the new Director of Consumer Protection. Hauptman formerly served as Counsel to Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, and prior to that role, … Continued
At this point, anyone who watches TV or streams shows is almost certainly familiar with insurance giant GEICO’s gregarious gecko. The affable mascot promises affordable insurance in a matter of minutes. But what the rogue reptile doesn’t tell you is that the company has a nasty habit of charging female drivers with clean driving records … Continued
Long-Serving CFA Director of Insurance Retires After serving 27-years with the Federation, J. Robert “Bob” Hunter, CFA’s Director of Insurance, retired earlier this month. Prior to joining CFA, Hunter created and ran the National Insurance Consumer Organization (NICO) for 13-years, had leading roles in both state and federal government, first as the U.S. Federal Insurance … Continued
Telematics programs, where auto insurance companies rely on in-car tracking devices to gather information about your driving habits and use that information to calculate premiums, hold promise but also dangers for consumers. Therefore, regulators need to implement safeguards and exercise adequate oversight to ensure that consumers aren’t exploited. A recent case aroused the ire of … Continued
Parents Warned About Leachco Infant Loungers Product safety advocates are urging consumers to immediately stop using several Leachco infant loungers following an announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about two infant deaths related to the products. “This is a product we’ve been urging the CPSC to address for years,” said Rachel Weintraub, … Continued
Last week, a federal district court in California ruled that deceptive advertising claims could go forward against the makers of Vizzy Hard Seltzer. As CFA and the Center for Science in the Public Interest explained in a March 2021 letter to FDA, the Vizzy marketing campaign blatantly runs afoul of FDA rules. And as explained … Continued
Acting Comptroller Hsu Calls for Overdraft Fee Reform at CFA’s Financial Services Conference At CFA’s 34th Annual Financial Services the Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu explained how overdraft practices contribute to income and wealth inequality and outlined what banks can do to reform overdraft programs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a … Continued
It’s no secret that auto insurance is expensive in Louisiana, to the point that it is very expensive for many families. The average auto insurance premium is $2,225 per year—56% more than the national average. And so far, auto insurance premiums have climbed 2% this year. Since Louisiana requires all drivers to have auto insurance, … Continued
Consumer Groups Urge FIO to Focus on Insurer’s Role in Addressing the Cost of Climate Change on Consumers CFA led several consumer and economic justice organizations in calling on the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to take a leading role in addressing climate change and its impact on insurance costs for consumers and impacted communities, and … Continued
Housing aid is threatened in Washington as the Build Back Better Act reconciliation package moves toward a vote. The original $327 billion housing portion is by far the largest and most needed investment in affordable housing in decades. This aid must be protected from deep reductions if we are to address California’s and the nation’s housing … Continued
CFPB Must Regulate Fee-Based Earned Wage Access Products CFA has joined 95 consumer, labor, civil rights, legal services, faith, community, and other financial organizations urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to reverse two actions regarding earned wage access (EWA) products that threaten to create dangerous loopholes in federal consumer protection and fair lending laws … Continued
Since the 1990s, major auto insurers have established telematics programs, which use consumer-generated driving data to calculate auto insurance premiums. These companies use information gathered from plug-in devices and mobile apps to track a variety of information. While these programs show some promise for promoting safe driving and more accurately calculating rates, they also pose … Continued
Long-Standing CFA Director of Investor Protection Moves on to SEC Barbara Roper, CFA’s long-standing Director of Investor Protection, has left the Federation after 35-years of service for a critical position at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “Barb Roper has likely been one of the most influential and effective protectors of the American investor … Continued
California is poised to lead the way again on privacy protection if Governor Gavin Newsom signs SB 41, a bill that requires direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies to obtain consumers’ permission before disclosing their genetic data to third parties and limits the ways this sensitive information can be used without their consent. As Consumer Federation … Continued
Groups Outline Airline Consumer Protection Priorities for DOT Consumer organizations, including CFA, called on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to make airline consumer protection a priority in a July meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. At the meeting, the groups presented the Secretary with a list of airline consumer protection priorities. “The Department of Transportation … Continued
One of the interesting issues that came up in our annual survey about complaints to state and local consumer agencies is the increasing availability of point-of-sale financing for items such as furniture and appliances. These credit arrangements, which are often offered by online financial service or “Fintech” companies in partnership with retailers, can be helpful … Continued
Earlier this week representatives of Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, Consumer Reports, the Business Travelers Coalition, Flyers Rights, the National Consumers League, TravelFairnessNow, and Travelers United met virtually with Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). After the last four years in the wilderness, during which there was little action to … Continued
President Signs Bipartisan Repeal of Anti-Consumer “Fake Lender” Rule On June 30, President Biden signed S.J. Res. 15 into law, repealing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) “fake lender” rule and delivering a major victory in the fight to end high-cost, predatory lending. The fake lender rule allowed lenders to evade state … Continued
Consumer Federation of America has joined more than 35 consumer, privacy and civil rights groups in a campaign to ban the use of facial recognition technology in stores, restaurants and other retail establishments. As the website created by campaign coordinator Fight for the Future explains, facial recognition can be used unfairly – and in some … Continued
Growing up in South Carolina, Independence Day was fraught with danger. Most years we spent the holiday at my Aunt Debbie’s timeshare condo in Myrtle Beach. The condo was on a golf course, and my brothers and I spent the days scavenging balls from the ponds and dodging errant shots from our would-be customers. We … Continued
Groups Support the Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act CFA has joined with 14 other public interest, legal services, financial reform, and safety organizations in supporting legislation to place regulations on car dealers who fail to complete free repairs to fix deadly safety recall defects before selling used cars to used car buyers at retail. … Continued
Recently, I did something I had not done in a long time. I ate in a restaurant with my family. Actually, we ate on the outdoor patio, since my kids are too young to be vaccinated and we are somewhat more squeamish than average about COVID, but it was nevertheless a refreshing return to normality … Continued