Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Liberty Company Insurance Brokers in California Names Davis Claims Manager
Jan 10 2020 // Woodland Hills, Calif.-based the Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has named Kimaili Davis claims manager. Davis started his career with the National American Insurance Co. and has over 25 years of claims experience,...
Australia’s Bushfires Could Surpass 2009’s Costly Season; Analysts, Insurers Comment
Jan 10 2020 // Australia’s bushfire season has months to run and could easily surpass the most costly fire season, 2009’s Black Saturday fires in Victoria, which had a price tag of an estimated A$4.4 billion (US$3 billion),...
Truckers Are Exempt from California’s ‘Gig Worker’ Law, Judge Finds
Jan 10 2020 // California’s new “gig worker” law does not apply to independent truck drivers because they are subject to federal statute, a Los Angeles judge ruled, handing a victory to one industry that is challenging...
Chamber of Commerce to Fight Corporate Breakups, Gig Worker Benefits
Jan 10 2020 // The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the powerful business group will fight to reverse liberal policies being pushed in the states and by some Democratic candidates for president. “We will lead the...
Uber Halts Upfront Ride Pricing in Response to New California Worker Law
Jan 9 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday informed its California customers that it would switch to providing estimates as opposed to fixed prices for its rides in response to a new law that makes it harder to qualify its...
Distinguished Programs Names Zeni Northern California Regional Sales Executive
Jan 7 2020 // Distinguished Programs has hired Paul R. Zeni as its new Northern California regional sales executive. Zeni has roughly 35 years of insurance industry experience. Zeni will represent Distinguished Programs insurance...
Palomar Holdings in California Launches Primary and Secondary Public Offering
Jan 7 2020 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. announced the underwritten public offering of 5 million shares of the company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, which consists of 750,000 shares of common stock...
Cavignac & Associates in California Names Potter and Cavignac Principals
Jan 7 2020 // San Diego, Calif.-based Cavignac & Associates has promoted Kelly Potter and Preston Cavignac to principals in firm. They join Jeff Cavignac, Jim Schabarum, Scott Bedingfield, Patrick Casinelli, Matthew Slakoff and...
J&J Reported to Settle Baby Powder Claim for $2 Million
Jan 7 2020 // Johnson & Johnson agreed in the middle of a trial to pay more than $2 million to resolve a woman’s claims that asbestos-laced baby powder caused her cancer, according to people familiar with the case. The...
Report: Salaries at California State Fund Being Questioned
Jan 6 2020 // Salaries at California’s State Compensation Fund are being called into question by some people in the state Capitol, it’s being reported. State Fund recruited a high-priced team of former executives from the...
California Eyes Climate Bond to Prepare For Disasters
Jan 6 2020 // In a state burdened by billions of dollars in wildfire damage, California lawmakers are hoping for an advance loan before the next climate-fueled catastrophe hits. Lawmakers in the Democratic-dominated state Legislature...
Women Win $13M in Lawsuit Against Porn Site in California
Jan 6 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 6 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...
Digital MGA Clearcover Raises $50M; Plans on Entering More States, Becoming Carrier
Jan 6 2020 // Clearcover, a digital managing general agent focused on auto insurance, said it has raised $50 million in new financing. The company said the money will be used to accelerate further national growth as well as further its...
M.J. Hall & Company in California Taps Former TOPA Chief Donahue as President
Jan 3 2020 // M.J. Hall & Company Inc. has named former TOPA chief John Donahue president of the Stockton, Calif.-based company. Donahue recently retired from his post as president and CEO at Calabasas, Calif.-based TOPA Insurance...
Feds to Investigate Deadly Tesla Crash in California
Jan 3 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 Tuesday. Agency spokesman Sean Rushton wouldn’t...
Small Undersea Quake Struck Off Southern California
Jan 3 2020 // An earthquake under the ocean gave an early wake-up jolt to some Southern California residents Thursday morning, U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The magnitude 4 temblor occurred at 2:13 a.m. near the Channel Islands,...
W.R. Berkley Names Levesque President of Preferred Employers; Gallacher Now Chairman
Jan 3 2020 // W. R. Berkley Corp. has appointed Dennis J. Levesque as president of its Preferred Employers Insurance subsidiary, a California specialty workers’ compensation writer. He succeeds Steven A. Gallacher, who has been...
Top Workers’ Comp Story of 2019: Berkshire Hathaway’s Sale of Applied Underwriters
Jan 2 2020 // The news that Berkshire Hathaway was in talks to sell its workers’ compensation unit, Applied Underwriters, caught readers’ attention in February and was easily Insurance Journal’s biggest workers’...
Southern California Insurance Agent Arrested for Allegedly Pocketing Premiums
Jan 2 2020 // California Department of Insurance detectives on Thursday 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 found...
