83-year-old Alice LaDuke of Potterville has entered a new phase in her protest against the 600 percent surcharge Auto-Owners added to her homeowner’s policy. She calls it “Road Sign 1,” which suggests its only the beginning.
She planted this sign, which measures about 2 feet by 5 feet, on her front lawn.
As I’ve written, LaDuke has been marching during the lunch hour in front of the Auto-Owners building, in Delta Township. She wears a sandwich-board sign advertising the fact that the surcharge boosted her annual premium from $585 to $4,092.
Auto-Owners officials declined to discuss with me the particulars of LaDuke’s complaint. However, they sent LaDuke a letter telling her the surcharge was “appropriate” because her two claims within 17 months — totaling $3,449 — were “predictive of the likelihood of future similar-type losses.”
She recently told me: “When I am no longer marching, I will find a way to place the signs on my front lawn for the winter.” She pointed out that there is “heavy traffic” on her road.
