Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Report on California Workers’ Comp Looks at Medical Provider Fraud

Dec 4 2019 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California in a follow-up analysis to its 2018 study that evaluated the potential impact of medical provider fraud enforcement shows indicted providers treated...

Under New State Laws, Catholic Church Could See New Wave of Abuse Suits

Dec 4 2019 // A wave of new laws in 15 states that allow people to make claims of sexual abuse going back decades could bring a deluge of lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church that could surpass anything seen so far in its clergy...

Factors that Contribute to Prolonged Recovery after California Wildfires

Dec 4 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As strong winds further exasperate the prime weather conditions for wildfires in California, efforts to save lives and property are a foremost priority of emergency...

EPIC Names Marshall Principal in Northern California

Dec 4 2019 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Sheryl Marshall as a principal within the firm’s moving & storage practice. Marshall will be based in Napa, Calif., and report to John Sames, senior vice...

Hub International Acquires HMBD Insurance Services in California

Dec 3 2019 // Hub International has acquired Long Beach, Calif.-based Hamman-Miller-Beauchamp-Deeble Inc. d/b/a HMBD Insurance Services. HMBD leadership Dan Roddy, President, and Vice Presidents Todd Miller, Travis England, Jay Semaan...

Probe Finds PG&E Failed to Inspect Transmission Lines That Caused 2018 Wildfire

Dec 3 2019 // Bankrupt California power producer PG&E Corp. did not properly inspect and replace transmission lines before a faulty wire sparked a wildfire that killed more than 80 people in 2018, a probe by a state regulator has...

Vape Crisis Prompts Calls for Greater Clarity in Cannabis Regulation

Dec 3 2019 // Cannabis industry lawyers are calling for greater clarity around regulation of the cannabis industry. Panelists at the 2019 Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Conference in Washington D.C. this month said...

Some Changes to California’s FAIR Plan Could Go into Effect Early Next Year

Dec 2 2019 // Note: This has been updated with FAIR Plan comments below. Changes to the insurance plan offered by California’s property insurer of last resort could possibly go into effect as early as the next few months – that...

PG&E Says Blackouts Limited California Fires Despite One Likely Failure

Dec 2 2019 // The nation’s largest utility said Friday that its distribution lines haven’t sparked any major wildfires since it began shutting off power to Northern California customers during periods of high fire...

Beazley Names Karimali Executive Risk Underwriter in California

Dec 2 2019 // Beazley has named Rozina Karimali executive risk underwriter within the cyber and executive risk division. Karimali is based in San Francisco and will underwrite public directors and officers and large private D&O...

People & Places

Dec 2 2019 // National W. R. Berkley Corp. announced the appointment of Daniel R. Westcott as president of Berkley Re America (BRAM). Westcott has 20 years of experience in the property and casualty reinsurance market. He joins Berkley...

California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts

Dec 2 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...

McDonald’s Will Pay $26 Million to Settle California Wage, Overtime, Break Claims

Dec 2 2019 // McDonald’s Corp. agreed to pay $26 million to settle a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of underpaying U.S. staff at its corporate-owned restaurants in California. The preliminary settlement...

Video Shows Lyft Driver Dragging Woman from Car in California

Dec 2 2019 // Los Angeles police say they’ve cited a Lyft driver for misdemeanor battery after video showed him dragging a passenger out of a car. Alessandra Ward says she suffered a black eye, bruises and a possible concussion...

Dive Boat on Which 34 Died in Southern California Exempt From Safety Rules

Nov 27 2019 // The diving boat that caught fire on Labor Day off Southern California, killing 34 people, was among hundreds of small vessels exempted by the U.S. Coast Guard from stricter safety rules designed to make it easier for...

Wildfire Crisis is Roiling California’s Insurance Market

Nov 27 2019 // Lauris Bye, a homebuilding industry veteran who moved to Southern California’s wildfire-prone hills decades ago, felt confident about the newly built house he was buying about 30 miles north of downtown Los...

McDonald’s Will Pay $26 Million to Settle California Wage, Overtime, Break Claims

Nov 26 2019 // McDonald’s Corp. agreed to pay $26 million to settle a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of underpaying U.S. staff at its corporate-owned restaurants in California. The preliminary settlement...

AssuredPartners Acquires Surety Solutions Insurance Services in California

Nov 25 2019 // AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Surety Solutions Insurance Services Inc. of Rancho Cordova, Calif. The team of 15 will remain under the leadership of John Page and Ryan Tash. Surety Solutions is licensed in all 50...

California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts

Nov 25 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...

Housing Crunch in California’s Pushing Developers Deeper into Wildfire Zones

Nov 25 2019 // The Santa Ana winds were blowing as Greg Medeiros ducked behind his Chevy Tahoe on a remote hillside 25 miles from the edge of Los Angeles’s sprawl. He gestured to the valley below, describing his vision of...