Latest California Headlines

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

Farmers in California Names Noh CFO of Farmers Insurance Exchanges

Jun 4 2019 // Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Farmers Insurance has named Thomas Noh chief financial officer of the Farmers Insurance Exchanges. He succeeds Ron Myhan, who retired after nearly 40 years with Farmers. Noh is a finance...

Western Growers in California Names Berend Senior Director of Commercial Lines

Jun 4 2019 // Western Growers Insurance Services Inc. has named Natalie Berend senior director of commercial lines. Berend will lead the account management team and is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating operational...

Monarch E&S in California Names Borisoff Vice President

Jun 4 2019 // Burbank, Calif.-based Monarch E&S Insurance Services has named Devon Borisoff vice president, director of carrier relations. He was previously a commercial underwriter for Monarch. Borisoff has held past positions with...

Coffee Won’t Need Cancer Warning in California

Jun 4 2019 // California coffee lovers can indulge their caffeine habit without worry now that the state has decided the beverage doesn’t need a cancer warning after all. That conclusion by a state regulator comes eight years...

Insurtech Avinew Acquires Betterdrive in California

Jun 4 2019 // Insurtech company Avinew has acquired Sunnyvalye, Calif.-based Betterdrive. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ravindhran Sankar, CEO and founder, will be named director of research and development. Avinew will...

California Assembly Approves Bill to Tighten Rules on Contractors

Jun 3 2019 // The California Assembly has voted to tighten the rules for labeling workers as independent contractors rather than employees. The legislation passed last week could have big implications for how workers are treated in...

Monarch E&S in California Names McLeod Vice President

Jun 3 2019 // Burbank, Calif.-based Monarch E&S Insurance Services has added Stefanie Mcleod to its management team as vice president and personal lines department manager. Mcleod will be working out of the Burbank office. She...

Bankruptcy Judge Approves PG&E $105 Million Assistance Fund for Wildfire Victims

Jun 3 2019 // PG&E Corp. may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility’s equipment, the judge overseeing the...

Direct Written Premium Fell in California Workers’ Comp System in 2018

Jun 3 2019 // Total direct written premium in the California workers’ compensation system fell for the second consecutive year in 2018, declining 3.8 percent to less than $12.3 billion as nine of the 10 largest insurer groups in...

California Legislature Mulling Electric Scooter Regulation

Jun 3 2019 // The California Assembly has approved new rules for electric bikes and scooters. Businesses like Bird and Spin have deployed scooters to cities across California and the country in recent years. Often local governments have...

5 Areas of School Liability to Watch

Jun 3 2019 // 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 the small school district in Maine...

California Agent Charged With Grand Theft And Forgery

May 31 2019 // Former insurance agent Richard Brian Willand, 54, of Sylmar, Calif., voluntarily surrendered at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in San Fernando on a warrant for his arrest for alleged grand theft of insurance premium...

George Petersen in California Completes Rebranding of Marin County Location

May 31 2019 // Santa Rosa, Calif.-based George Petersen Insurance Agency has completed the rebranding of its Marin County agencies. Minto & Wilkie was acquired by George Petersen in February 2017 and Allen, Bettini & Carter was...

PG&E Restructuring Plan Upped to $45B by Creditors

May 31 2019 // A group of PG&E Corp. creditors could preempt the embattled California utility’s own attempt to claw its way out of bankruptcy by presenting a restructuring plan that could be worth at least $45 billion,...

California Utility Regulator OKs PG&E’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan

May 30 2019 // A Wildfire Mitigation Plan submitted by Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday. The state Legislature in 2018 enacted Senate Bill 901 mandating action by the...

Cavignac & Associates in California Names Enderby Account Manager

May 29 2019 // San Diego, Calif.-based Cavignac & Associates has named Melissa Enderby an account manager within the firm’s small business unit. Enderby’s responsibilities include completing requests for proposals,...

California Commissioner Wants Insurers to Extend Living Expense Coverage for 2017 Wildfire Survivors

May 29 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday announced two new actions intended to assist survivors of the 2017 North Bay Fires who are facing unavoidable delays in rebuilding. The California Department of...

California Does Not Have a Wildfire Insurance Crisis

May 29 2019 // It’s understandable that wildfire is on the top of mind for California lawmakers this session. Coming on the heels of the 2017 wildfire season that saw $13.2 billion in insured losses, the fires last November that...

Early Cannabis Insurance Claims Experience Differs from Expectations

May 29 2019 // It’s still early, but claims experience thus far in the cannabis insurance market is encouraging, according to one leading writer. “So far, we’re optimistic that we’re going to see that our...

Increasing Physician Prices Doesn’t Produce Better Results for Injured Workers

May 29 2019 // When the price of physician services increases relative to group health rates, injured workers report fewer problems getting the care they want but no significant improvement in physical function or speedier return to...