California has long been a bellwether state for trends that sweep across the nation. California became a major insurance battleground in 1988, when five competing initiatives dealing with regulation of insurers were placed on the general election ballot.
Proposition 103, was the only of the five initiatives that passed. Narrowly ratified by 51% of voters, it imposed sweeping new regulatory requirements on insurers.
Proposition 103 changed the insurance industry in the following ways: