Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers in California Adds DePiero
Jun 5 2020 // The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers in Woodland Hills, Calif., has named Heather DePiero the associate director of business development. DePiero will be responsible for identifying and cultivating new risk advisor talent...
Report Calls for Regulators to Tackle ‘Systemic Risk’ from Climate Change
Jun 4 2020 // Climate change is a systemic risk with wide-ranging potential physical impacts, according to a new report that also serves as a call-to-action for U.S financial regulators to do more to deal with a changing climate. An...
California Orders Unlicensed Van Rental Company to Stop Selling Insurance Products
Jun 4 2020 // The California Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist order against unlicensed van rental company, Airport Van Rental Inc. and its owners, Yazdan Irani, 57, of Encino, and his wife, Kimberly, 61, for operating a...
$5 Billion Lawsuit Accuses Google of Tracking Users’ Private Internet Activity
Jun 3 2020 // Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in...
Poms & Associates in California Names Schirtz Vice President
Jun 2 2020 // Poms & Associates has named Jennifer M. Schirtz vice president of insurance placement. Schirtz is responsible for managing relationships with insurance carriers. Schirtz joins Poms & Associates from HUB...
Former California Surplus Line Chair Grant Was a ‘Determined Leader’
Jun 2 2020 // Donald W. Grant served as the chair of the board of directors for the Surplus Line Association of California, was involved in the wholesale brokerage community and founded a managing general agency. Grant died on May...
California Lowers Workers’ Comp COVID Estimate; Expects Claims Drop in Downturn
Jun 1 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California on Monday released a study looking at the historic impact of economic downturns on workers’ comp claim frequency and the potential impact of...
Study: Sharp Drop in California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews
Jun 1 2020 // The number of Independent Medical Review determination letters, a process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes, fell sharply in prescription drug disputes by 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Lowers Mid-Range Estimate of COVID Costs by $10B
Jun 1 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California published estimated costs of allowing state workers to receive benefits for COVID-19 claims without proving virus exposure at work, dropping a prior...
Business Moves
Jun 1 2020 // National Altamont Capital, Topa Insurance The deal for Altamont Capital Partners to acquire Topa Insurance Group has been called off. Last August, Altamont Capital Partners signed an agreement to acquire Calabasas,...
How COVID-19 Is Changing Insurance for Schools
Jun 1 2020 // Lilian A. Vanvieldt, senior vice president, educational entities practice leader, for Alliant, has spent more than three decades insuring schools across the country. Her book spans from small school districts to very large...
Farm Workers Getting Sick, Spreading Coronavirus As Peak Produce Season Begins
May 29 2020 // All of the roughly 200 employees on a produce farm in Tennessee tested positive for Covid-19 this month. In New Jersey, more than 50 workers had the virus at a farm in Gloucester County, adding to nearly 60 who fell ill in...
California Approves PG&E Bankruptcy Plan With Oversight, Safety Conditions
May 29 2020 // California regulators approved PG&E Corp.’s $58 billion reorganization plan, bringing the power giant another step closer to exiting the biggest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. The state’s Public...
California Lawmakers Move Toward Risk-Based Rates
May 28 2020 // As the Soviet Union ultimately learned the hard way, price controls are a guaranteed way to prolong shortages. It has taken a few years, but there are promising signs California lawmakers may finally be ready to learn the...
After Big Oil Loses Appeal, Climate Suits Appear Headed to California Courts
May 28 2020 // Big Oil lost a pair of court battles this week that could lead to trials in lawsuits by California cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected...
California Sues for Sex Misconduct on ‘Criminal Minds’ Set
May 28 2020 // The state of California filed a lawsuit against CBS, Disney and producers of the long-running series “Criminal Minds,” alleging that the show’s cinematographer engaged in rampant sexual misconduct against...
Woodruff Sawyer Adds Crowder in Northern California
May 28 2020 // Woodruff Sawyer has added Kelly Crowder to its Northern California management liability and property/casualty teams as a vice president and account executive. Crowder will serve high-growth private and public company...
Unlicensed Agent in California Nabbed for Allegedly Stealing $500K in Premiums
May 27 2020 // Unlicensed insurance agent Ai Ling Lee, also known as Linda Lee, 60, of Hacienda Heights, Calif., was arrested on nine felony counts of grand theft after allegedly stealing roughly $500,000 in clients’ insurance...
Smoke Inhalation Killed 34 in California Dive Boat Fire, Coroner Says
May 27 2020 // Coroner’s reports for the 34 victims who died in a scuba boat fire off the Southern California coast last year show they died of carbon monoxide poisoning before they were burned, authorities said Thursday. All...
State Fund in California Accepting Applications for $50M Return to Work Fund
May 26 2020 // State Compensation Insurance Fund in California has started accepting applications for its $50 million Returning California to Work COVID-19 Safety Protocol Fund. The fund will help State Fund policyholders implement new...
