California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has set the cat among the pigeons twice in two days. The Los Angeles Times reported that he was about to unveil plans to slash $1 billion from title insurance costs.

The new rules would make double-digit cuts in title insurance for purchases and refinancings as well as slash title company charges by an average 27 percent. Garamendi said he acted because a few companies monopolize the business. The companies said they were working on margins under 10 percent but admitted that the recent real estate boom had made them much more profitable.

And Friday, the paper reported that auto insurance companies were suing over new rules that make individual records more important in setting rates than a zip code or neighborhood.

Insurers say the new rules will hike premiums in suburban and rural areas and provide subsidized coverage for residents in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Could it be that the insurers actually prefer suburban drivers?

The title industry accused Garamendi of grandstanding to boost his chances of being elected Lieutenant Governor in November. Why not? It seems to have made Eliot Spitzer unbeatable for the governor’s mansion in Albany, New York.