Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
State Farm Still Wants a 30% Rate Increase in California
May 21 2025 // State Farm isn’t done seeking a rate increase in California, upping its request a week after getting the OK for a large rate hike to what the company had originally wanted before being rejected and agreeing to an...
Alphabet’s Waymo Gets California Nod for Robotaxi Expansion in Bay Area
May 21 2025 // Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it received approval from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San...
Senate Will Try to Block California Vehicle Standards to Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars
May 20 2025 // The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government’s, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale...
California Commissioner Launches Smoke Claims & Remediation Task Force
May 19 2025 // A new task force has been formed to develop standards in California for insurance coverage and clean-up of smoke-damaged homes. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced the formation of a Smoke Claims &...
Swiss Re Profits Up Despite Losses from California Wildfires
May 16 2025 // Swiss Re AG’s profit rose in the first quarter as losses from the California wildfires were offset by positive performance across the business. Net income increased to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier,...
California DoorDash Driver Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.5M in Deliveries Scam
May 16 2025 // A former food delivery driver pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to steal more than $2.5 million from DoorDash by getting the company to pay for deliveries that never occurred, federal prosecutors said. Sayee...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Highest in 14 Years
May 14 2025 // Written premiums in California stabilized in 2022 through 2024 after the large swings during the pandemic, while the combined ratio rose to the highest level in 14 years, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation...
Judge Recommends Approving 17% State Farm Rate Hike in California
May 13 2025 // It looks like California’s largest homeowners insurer is getting a large rate increase following billions of dollars in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires and pullback on writing new policies in the...
Family of Helicopter Pilot Killed in California Wildfire Reaches $15M Settlement
May 13 2025 // The family of a helicopter pilot who died when his helicopter crashed while fighting a wildfire in Southern California reached a $15 million settlement with the company that maintained the aircraft, their attorneys...
Tesla Driver Charged in California Attacks Arrested Again for Road Rage in Hawaii
May 12 2025 // A Tesla driver charged with attacking motorists’ vehicles with a pipe in the Los Angeles area has been arrested again for allegedly assaulting two women during a road rage incident in Honolulu. The recent arrest...
People Moves: Rothwell Joins Cowbell in California as Controller
May 12 2025 // Vivien Rothwell Vivien Rothwell joined Cowbell as controller. Rothwell has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance and accounting, working across the real estate, insurance, and FinTech sectors. Rothwell...
California Labor Commissioner Fines Care Facility $40,000 in Retaliation Case
May 8 2025 // A mental healthcare facility was ordered to pay $40,460 after the California Labor Commissioner’s Office found the company unlawfully terminated a care facility worker for reporting workplace violations. The LCO...
California Electrical Firm Pays $1.4M for Fair Labor Violations
May 7 2025 // A San Jose, California-based electrical engineering and construction company paid $1.4 million for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Department of Labor found Cupertino Electric Inc. failed to pay proper...
California Labor Commissioner Cites University and Contractors
May 7 2025 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Pepperdine University and four janitorial contractors after an investigation reportedly found violations of state janitorial registration laws. The labor commissioner...
Driver of Tour Van Involved in Deadly Idaho Crash Was Licensed in California
May 5 2025 // Idaho State Police said the driver of the tour van involved in a deadly collision with a pickup truck was licensed in California and the company that organized the trip was Ctour Holiday LLC, a large tour operator that...
Travelers Income Drops 65% on Catastrophe Losses, Primarily California Wildfires
May 5 2025 // The Travelers Cos. said first-quarter 2025 fell 65% on an underwriting loss of $305 million. Travelers posted first-quarter net income of about $395 million compared to about $1.1 billion during Q1 2024. The underwriting...
California Sets Aside $170M to Thin Vegetation, Forests to Help Prevent Wildfires
May 5 2025 // Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation on Monday that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental...
California Attorney General Suing Cleaning Company Over ‘No-Poach’ Deals
May 2 2025 // California’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against a national sanitation company for allegedly using “no-poach” agreements. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the lawsuit this week...
California’s Ban on Gasoline Cars Is Overturned by US House Vote
May 1 2025 // Republicans moved a step closer Thursday to repealing a federal waiver allowing California to ban gasoline-powered cars by 2035, a policy that had drawn opposition from automakers, fuel producers and President Donald Trump...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Submits Higher 2025 Pure Premium Rate Filing
May 1 2025 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California submitted a September 1, 2025 pure premium rate filing, proposing advisory pure premium rates on average 11.2% above the average approved September 1,...
