LOCAL : Coastal Insurance to Be Liquidated
The Coastal Insurance Co., which has 220,000 automobile policyholders, mostly in Los Angeles and Orange counties, has been put in conservatorship and will be liquidated, State Insurance Commissioner Roxani M. Gillespie said today. She said the California Insurance Guarantee Assn. will honor claims of Coastal customers under existing policies.
Harry O. Miller, chairman of Coastal, said the company has been losing money for six months, and is about $40 million in the hole currently. Miller said that in his opinion the auto insurance business, due to mounting claims, “is no longer viable in Los Angeles County, and that condition is spreading to Orange County.” He said Coastal would have had to increase its rates by 100% to break even.
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