The Cupertino Courier

Letters

Has Quackenbush really saved taxpayers money?

The forthcoming election involves one seat probably more important to our pocketbooks than the governor's chair.

The position involves none other than Cupertino's former Assemblyman Chuck (I've saved you tons of money on auto insurance) Quackenbush.

Quackenbush crows over the cuts in the auto insurance rates but fails to mention that:

1. Car-accident-related lawsuits filed in superior courts fell from 91,450 in 1988 to 47,800 in 1996.

2. The number of licensed drivers in California rose from 20.3 million in 1988 to 21.4 million in 1995.

3. California auto insurers reported average 1996 profits of 19.3 percent--nearly 60 percent higher than the national average of 12.1 percent.

Then we have Quackenbush and earthquake insurance.

After the Loma Prieta quake the state created the California Earthquake Authority, which is overseen by Quackenbush.

For those who continued the quake coverage with the CEA, it was instant shock. Our rates soared, and to add insult to injury, the CEA printed a disclaimer with the policy that said, "If we run out of money, you get nothing."

I knew something was wrong when I discovered that our rates in Cupertino were higher than those in Northridge.

In February 1988, a regulatory judge for the Department of Insurance in San Francisco agreed with me and said the rates adopted by the state insurance authority were based on outdated and incorrect calculations. (The CEA used only ZIP codes for rate setting.)

This past year, earthquake coverage has become available with national companies.

I canceled my CEA policy and with my three-month refund was able to buy an entire year of earthquake coverage with more benefits than offered by the state.

Quackenbush says, "Since 1995, I've aggressively protected consumers."

It ain't true, Chuck. I don't know if you are in the pockets of the insurance companies, but I do know the insurance companies have been in my pockets digging with both hands, and you haven't done anything about it.

W.J. Dunn
Cupertino

A poem for politician Riggs

Frank Riggs is running for the Senate. He is the one who made a name for himself by standing before Congress and defending the principle of daubing pepper spray into the eyes of young lady environmentalists who had the audacity or zeal to clutter up Riggs' California office during a sit-in. Riggs called them "wanton criminals." At least they're not official cowards. This is a poem I sent to Mr. Riggs:

Frank the hero of burning eyes
Wins the doubt of man and God,
At zealous girls he vents his wrath
And forfeits thus the voters' nod

Robert Thoen
Sunnyvale

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