Proposition 103 Exemption for Surety Insurers Upheld

Amwest Insurance Group Inc. won a legal victory last week when a Superior Court judge upheld the exemption of Amwest and other surety insurers from the major provisions of Proposition 103.

The proposition calls for, among other things, a rollback in insurance rates. It was largely aimed at reforming auto insurance in California. Amwest, a Woodland Hills-based concern that provides bail bonds and other surety bonds, successfully lobbied the Legislature to pass a bill that exempted surety insurers from Proposition 103.

Voter Revolt, a consumer group that spearheaded the proposition’s passage, went to court to challenge the bill. But Judge Dzintra I. Janavs in Los Angeles ruled that the bill “is not inconsistent with the express purposes of Proposition 103 and that Proposition 103 was never intended to apply to surety insurance,” Amwest said.