Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AM Best Revises Status to Developing for California Capital Insurance Co. and Subsidiaries
Feb 20 2019 // AM Best has revised the implications of the under review status to developing from negative for the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of...
California Department of Insurance Issues Cease And Desist Order for Benefits Firm
Feb 19 2019 // The California Department of Insurance issued a Cease and Desist Order effective immediately upon NexGen Insurance Services Inc., Riverstone Capital, LLC (dba Riverstone Capital Insurance Services LLC) and its...
Auto-Owners to Acquire Capital Insurance Group in California
Feb 19 2019 // Auto-Owners Insurance has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Monterey, Calif.-based Capital Insurance Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Auto-Owners Insurance Group is headquartered in Lansing, Mich....
Actor Told He Can’t Copyright Dance Moves in California Lawsuit
Feb 19 2019 // “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star Alfonso Ribeiro has been denied a copyright for the ?Carlton” dance, which he’s suing two videogame makers over. The denial from the U.S. Copyright Office was...
Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance Adds Gordon and Davis in California
Feb 19 2019 // Lakeport, Calif.-based Lincoln-Leavitt Insurance has added Tina Gordon and Maria Davis. Gordon will focus on commercial insurance for the construction, manufacturing, retail and wholesale industries. Davis is an account...
Aetna to Pay $935K in HIV-Related Privacy Breach in California
Feb 18 2019 // Aetna will pay $935,000 after one of its vendors sent letters to California patients that revealed via a window on the envelopes that the recipients were taking HIV-related medications. California Attorney General Xavier...
People
Feb 18 2019 // National MetLife has named Darla Finchum as head of the company’s U.S. property/casualty business, MetLife Auto & Home. Finchum had been serving in this role on an interim basis since last August. She will be...
NSAIDs Overtake Opioids as Top Workers’ Comp Drug in California
Feb 15 2019 // Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs, have supplanted opioids as the most common therapeutic drug group prescribed to injured workers in California, according to a new California Workers’ Compensation...
Mudslides Carry Away Homes, Water Rescues Needed in California Storm
Feb 15 2019 // Motorists swam for their lives and residents were rescued from homes sliding downhill as the wettest winter storm of the year triggered floods and mudslides across California on Thursday. In Sausalito, just across the...
New Ventures, Driver Shortage Among Challenges in Trucking Insurance Market
Feb 15 2019 // The transportation industry is considered a barometer of the U.S. economy. If freight is trending up, so too is the U.S. economy. But capacity constraints for trucking – including a shortage of qualified drivers, low...
California Weighs Buying Disaster Insurance Policy to Cover Wildfire Costs
Feb 14 2019 // California’s insurance commissioner and a lawmaker want to the state to consider buying insurance in the private market to cover rapidly increasing costs of fighting wildfires due to climate change. State Sen. Bill...
Videogame Maker Asks Judge to Toss California Suit Filed over Rapper’s Dance
Feb 14 2019 // The makers of “Fortnite” have asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from a rapper who says the video game is illegally using a dance he created. Epic Games filed the motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit...
Wholesaler WSS Opens New Southern California Office
Feb 13 2019 // WSS has opened a new office location in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The new office is led by Mark Kaufman, chief operating officer, who joined WSS in 2018. WSS has expanded its southern California presence with eight new client...
What? Women Pay More Than Men for Auto Insurance? Yup.
Feb 12 2019 // It’s a widespread belief that men pay more for automobile insurance than women. But that’s only true for young adults. Several studies in 2018 and 2017 revealed that women over 25, particularly those between 40...
Mercury General in California Reports 4Q Earnings Loss
Feb 12 2019 // Mercury General Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $81.9 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. The Los Angeles, Calif.-based carrier said it had a loss of $1.48 per share. Losses,...
AP Intego Insurance Opens California Office
Feb 11 2019 // AP Intego Insurance Group announced the opening of its first West Coast office in Pleasanton, Calif. In addition, AP Intego recently expanded its Fairport, N.Y. sales, service, and operations center, as well as its...
Firefighters Endangered During California Blaze, New Report Shows
Feb 11 2019 // Poor communication, short staffing and infighting among agencies may have endangered firefighters who nearly died during the massive Mendocino Complex of wildfires in Northern California, according to a new report...
Another California Utility One Wildfire Away From Ruin
Feb 11 2019 // The warning couldn’t have been clearer. As PG&E Corp. plunged into bankruptcy last month, S&P Global Ratings slashed credit grades almost to junk status for California’s two other big electric...
Champion in California Names Myers Commercial Insurance Broker
Feb 7 2019 // San Diego, Calif.-based Champion Risk & Insurance Services has named Casey Myers a commercial insurance broker. Myers was previously a vice president with Paul Hanson Partners Transportation Insurance. Casey...
Andersen, Hunter to Lead Lockton Employee Benefits Operations in California
Feb 7 2019 // Lockton has named Won Andersen and Dard Hunter to lead and expand its Pacific Series employee benefits operations. Both will be based in Lockton’s San Francisco, Calif. office. Andersen is focusing on creating a...
