For the fifth straight year, the group that wrote a state ballot initiative to regulate auto insurance rates has been the sole beneficiary of a provision that awards fees to outside interests who intervene in rate cases, according to new statistics issued by the California Department of Insurance.
In 2012, Santa Monica-basedConsumerWatchdog raked in nearly $780,000 in “intervenor fees” by protesting insurance company rate adjustments. Since the program’s inception, the special interest group founded by lawyer Harvey Rosenfeld, has reaped nearly 80 percent of the fees in the program, collecting approximately $10 million in fees. ConsumerWatchdog pays nearly $450,000 in “consulting fees” annually, according to the group’s documents filed with the
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