California's Insurance Regulation Revolution: The First Two Years of Proposition 103

In this Article, Professor Sugarman looks at the victorious insurance initiative, Proposition 103, two years after its passage by the California voters. The author first addresses the "torts crises" and the legislative deadlock from which the proposition and four competing initiatives emerged. Proposition 103's provisions are then discussed, followed by a description of the attempts at implementation over the past two years and the battles that took place between the Insurance Commissioner, the insurance industry, and supporters of the proposition. Concluding that the goals of Proposition 103 cannot be achieved, the Article closes with an examination of several reform proposals that have recently been put forward.