Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alliant Names Droz Vice President in Employee Benefits in California
Jul 30 2019 // Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has named Michelle Droz vice president within the employee benefits group. Droz will be based in San Francisco, Calif., and design and deliver benefits solutions to clients across a range of...
A Year after GDPR, How Can U.S. Insurers Prepare for Data Privacy Regs Closer to Home?
Jul 30 2019 // More than a year after the European Union implemented its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), U.S. insurers are examining what they can learn as they prepare for the implementation of similar data privacy laws in...
Trial in Deadly Northern California Warehouse Fire Wraps up
Jul 30 2019 // The trial against two men arrested after a deadly warehouse fire in the San Francisco Bay Area is wrapping up. Prosecutors began closing arguments Monday against Derick Almena and Max Harris, both charged with involuntary...
Fortuna General Acquires Appleby and Sterling in Southern California
Jul 29 2019 // Fortuna General Insurance Agency has acquired Simi Valley, Calif.-based Appleby and Sterling. Appleby and Sterling’s Mike Maurer and Sue Fodor will be joining Fortuna as production underwriters. Terms of the deal...
CSAA in California Names Jones Chief Human Resources Officer
Jul 29 2019 // Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA Insurance Group has named Melissa Jones executive vice president and chief human resources officer. As a member of the company’s executive leadership team, Jones leads efforts in areas...
Oregon Lagging on Disaster Preparedness, Scientists Warn
Jul 29 2019 // Oregon state lawmakers abandoned a multimillion-dollar project to develop early warning systems for earthquakes and wildfires, and scientists warn that the funding shake-up could endanger public safety and put Oregon...
S. Korea Balcony Collapse Kills 2, Injures 16, Including U.S., Other International Athletes
Jul 29 2019 // A balcony inside a nightclub in South Korea collapsed on Saturday, killing two people and injuring 16, including American and other athletes at the world swimming championships, officials said. Hundreds were at the...
Judge Reduces $2 Billion Roundup Jury Verdict to $86 Million
Jul 29 2019 // A California judge on Thursday reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer, Roundup, for their cancer to $86.7 million. Superior Court Judge...
Gaspar Insurance Acquires Elden Insurance in Southern California
Jul 26 2019 // Gaspar Insurance Services has acquired Elden Insurance Services Inc. in Canoga Park, Calif. Plans call for Elden Insurance owner Dennis Helio to retire. Elden Insurance offers commercial and personal insurance services,...
Utilities Want in on California Wildfire Insurance Fund, But Others Will Decide
Jul 26 2019 // All three of California’s investor-owned utilities have now signed off on the creation of a $21 billion wildfire fund that any one of them could tap the next time a power line sparks a catastrophic blaze. PG&E...
Union Not Siding with Rideshare Operators on California Labor Law
Jul 26 2019 // Uber and Lyft suffered a setback in their months-long fight against rules that could force them to reclassify California drivers as employees. The ridesharing companies, along with other businesses that depend on...
Insurers Owed $20 Billion Offer Own Rescue Plan for PG&E in Bankruptcy Court
Jul 25 2019 // Insurance companies that say Pacific Gas & Electric owes them more than $20 billion from wildfire claims wants to take over the California utility and pull it out of bankruptcy. The group of insurers filed court...
Police Looking into if Tesla Was Self-Driving During California Crash
Jul 24 2019 // A woman was arrested after running a red light in a rented Tesla in San Francisco and causing a crash that killed a tourist and left his wife critically injured, authorities said. Officers were investigating whether the...
Modeler Estimates Insured Losses from California Quakes Less Than $40M
Jul 24 2019 // A catastrophe modeler estimates the total loss from the 7.1 Magnitude and M6.4 earthquakes that struck near Ridgecrest, Calif., earlier this month will be about $200 million, not including infrastructure or damage to...
California Financial Advisor Sentenced to 10 Years for Embezzling $1M
Jul 24 2019 // California financial advisor Tom Fallon, 65, has been sentenced in Long Beach Superior Court after being convicted in an open plea of 25 criminal counts of money laundering and grand theft. Fallon was sentenced to 10 years...
California Commissioner and U.N. to Develop Sustainable Insurance Roadmap
Jul 23 2019 // The California Department of Insurance and the United Nations Environment Program on Tuesday announced the launch of a yearlong effort to develop a “Sustainable Insurance Roadmap” to confront California’s...
Big Cannabis Bills That Await California Lawmakers Include Banking and Hemp Products
Jul 23 2019 // Next month could be big for California’s cannabis industry. Among legislation introduced last session by state lawmakers was a bill to enable hemp-infused food and beverages to be legally sold by licensed marijuana...
Report Shows California Workers’ Compensation Premiums Falling
Jul 22 2019 // Workers’ compensation insurance premiums in California are declining as continued rate decreases more than offset the impacts of continued economic growth, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance...
California Earthquake Authority Board Expands Policyholder Eligibility for Retrofit Grants
Jul 22 2019 // The governing board of the California Earthquake Authority has voted to increase the number of policyholders eligible for a $3,000 retrofit grant. The CEA board voted to make the grant available to roughly 30,000 CEA...
Bayer May Have Home Advantage in St. Louis Roundup Cancer Trial
Jul 22 2019 // Bayer AG, facing an upcoming trial in St. Louis over allegations that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, has recruited Missouri-based expert witnesses to make its case in a place where it has century-old roots but...
