Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Woman Sues American Airlines, Claims Employee Stalked Her
Jan 21 2020 // A San Diego, Calif. woman is suing American Airlines, saying that a former employee stalked her by sending more than 100 unwanted texts, some of them sexually suggestive. In her Jan. 6 lawsuit, Ashley Barno contends that...
California Lawmaker Wants Probe of PG&E’s Chief Regulator
Jan 17 2020 // A state lawmaker is demanding an extensive review of the California Public Utilities Commission to determine whether regulators’ lax oversight enabled neglect at Pacific Gas & Electric that triggered catastrophic...
California Sleep Apnea Company Pays $37.5M to Settle Kickback Lawsuits
Jan 17 2020 // ResMed, a San Diego, Calif.-based company that sells sleep apnea machines, will pay $37.5 million to settle allegations that it provided kickbacks to obtain customer referrals, federal prosecutors announced this week. The...
Judge Presses PG&E on How It Will Protect Wildfire Victims’ Funds Given FEMA Demand
Jan 17 2020 // PG&E Corp. needs to explain how it will keep a promise to pay fire victims $13.5 billion in the face of a demand from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a cut of that money, a bankruptcy judge said...
Global Cannabis Revenue Pushed by Sales Doubling in Some U.S. States
Jan 16 2020 // The green rush in the global cannabis market continued in 2019, with sales doubling in seven U.S. states as well as Canada, and you can expect that trend to continue this year, a report out on Thursday shows. The report...
California Refinery Hit With $125K in Safety Violations
Jan 16 2020 // Federal officials have fined a Southern California refinery $125,000 for chemical safety and risk-management violations, according to a newspaper report. The violations stem from a 2016 investigation into Torrance...
Aspen Risk Management Group in California Acquired by TRISTAR
Jan 15 2020 // TRISTAR Insurance Group Inc. has agreed to acquire San Diego, Calif.-based Aspen Risk Management Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. All Aspen employees will continue operating out of the existing locations under...
Gig Economy Law Talk of California Insurance Wholesalers Conference
Jan 15 2020 // A sweeping California gig economy law was the focus of a lot of the talk this year during an annual insurance wholesalers conference. Assembly Bill 5, California’s gig worker law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in...
Dead Crew Member’s Family Suing California Dive Boat Operator
Jan 15 2020 // The family of the lone crew member to die in a fiery scuba boat disaster that killed all 33 passengers off the California coast last year sued the vessel’s owner Monday in federal court. The lawsuit by the family of...
Southern California Uber Driver Accused of Raping Passenger
Jan 15 2020 // An Uber driver was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman who said she fell asleep in his car after a night of drinking and woke up to him assaulting her, authorities said. The suspect, Alonso Calle, had contacted police...
FEMA Administrator: We Want California Wildfire Costs From PG&E, Not Victims
Jan 13 2020 // A regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday said FEMA is going after California utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric for $3.9 billion owed the government due to wildfires that PG&E was...
PIIB in California Elects 2020’s Board of Directors
Jan 13 2020 // El Dorado Hills, Calif.-based Pacific Interstate Insurance Brokers has announced its 2020 board of directors. The voting members of Pacific Interstate Insurance Brokers reelected seven people to PIIB’s board during...
Potential Wage-and-Hour Claims Could Rise Under New Overtime Rule
Jan 13 2020 // New federal rules on overtime pay, which began January 1, change for the first time since 2004 the threshold for who is entitled to overtime pay — and who is not. The new rule raises the income threshold that...
Industry Trends to Exploit for 2020
Jan 13 2020 // The insurance industry is so intertwined into the economy and society, that just about any noticeable change in either will have some impact for the insurance industry. That is why it is imperative for agency owners to...
Women Win $13M in Lawsuit Against Porn Site in California
Jan 13 2020 // The owners and operators of a San Diego, Calif.-based porn website must pay $12.7 million after a judge found them liable for fraud and breach of contract for lying to women about how their explicit videos would be...
California State Fund Declares 15% Dividend for 2019 Policy Year
Jan 13 2020 // California State Compensation Insurance Fund announced plans to distribute a roughly $55 million dividend to its qualifying policyholders with policies that took effect between Aug. 20 and Dec. 31, 2019. The dividend...
Southern California Insurance Agent Arrested for Allegedly Pocketing Premiums
Jan 13 2020 // California Department of Insurance detectives in early January arrested insurance agent Gelinda Phann Keo, 43, on one felony count of grand theft after she allegedly pocketed a client’s insurance payment. The CDI...
Feds to Investigate Deadly Tesla Crash in California
Jan 13 2020 // The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the crash of a speeding Tesla that killed two people in a Los Angeles suburb, the agency announced. The agency wouldn’t say whether the Tesla Model...
California Agent Sentenced for Stealing $174K in Premiums from Truck Drivers
Jan 10 2020 // Connie Free, 34, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was sentenced this week to 22 felony counts and one misdemeanor count including grand theft and forgery after reportedly stealing at least $174,000 in insurance premiums from 11...
California Commissioner Adds to Curriculum Board, CIGA Board
Jan 10 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this week announced his appointments of the newest members to the Curriculum Board and the California Insurance Guarantee Association Board of Governors. The Curriculum Board...
