Judge Tosses Suit Over Insurance Rates

By STEVE LAWRENCE Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Siding with consumer groups and state regulators, a Sacramento judge Thursday threw out a lawsuit that challenged rules requiring auto insurers to base their rates primarily on drivers' records instead of where they live.

Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster granted a summary judgment, ruling that regulations adopted last year by then-Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi were consistent with Proposition 103, the rate-regulation initiative adopted by voters in 1988.

Three insurance groups -- the American Insurance Association, the Association of California Insurance Companies and the Personal Insurance Federation of California -- filed the lawsuit.

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