Latest California Headlines

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

California Agent Allegedly Took $100K from Employer And Clients

Jul 25 2016 // Suren Hovhannisyan, 27, a licensed insurance agent in North Hollywood, Calif., was arrested at his residence in early July on multiple felony counts of burglary, grand theft, and unauthorized use of access cards after...

Navigating California’s High Workers’ Comp Rates and Excessive Lawsuits

Jul 25 2016 // California employers routinely pay the highest insurance rates for workers’ compensation in the country. The increasing rates are due to several factors including rising medical costs and an aging workforce. In this...

$30M Settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb in California Whistleblower Suit

Jul 25 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones reached a $30 million settlement with pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb earlier this month over allegations of drug marketing fraud and physician kickbacks. The...

California Workers’ Comp is Biased Against Women, Suit States

Jul 25 2016 // California’s workers’ compensation system discriminates against women by judging benefits on the basis of stereotypes and ignoring harm done to women — such as refusing permanent benefits when a woman...

G2 Insurance Services Names Fox-Foster Claims Manager in California

Jul 19 2016 // G2 Insurance Services has named Martin Fox-Foster claims manager. Fox-Foster will be located in the company’s San Francisco office He will serve as a resource to G2 Insurance’s commercial clients, advocating on...

$30M Settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb in California Whistleblower Suit

Jul 18 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones reached a $30 million settlement with pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb over allegations of drug marketing fraud and physician kickbacks. The settlement stems from...

Federal Government Sues California Homeowner for $25M over Wildfire

Jul 18 2016 // The federal government is suing a California homeowner for nearly $25 million, contending his negligence sparked a 2013 fire in the mountains east of Los Angeles that forced 5,000 people from their homes. The lawsuit says...

Climate Change Exposes U.S. Infrastructure to Natural Hazards, Rand Corp. Says

Jul 14 2016 // Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part column. A follow up column will focus on how catastrophe modelers are being asked to create products that take into account potential climate change impacts. A report...

California Governor Wants to Expand Efforts on Climate Change

Jul 13 2016 // California Gov. Jerry Brown has launched a campaign to extend some of the most ambitious climate-change programs in the country and ensure his environmental legacy when he leaves office in two years. The centerpiece of the...

California Agent Allegedly Took $100K from Employer And Clients

Jul 12 2016 // Suren Hovhannisyan, 27, a licensed insurance agent of North Hollywood, Calif., was arrested at his residence this week on multiple felony counts of burglary, grand theft, and unauthorized use of access cards after...

More California Drivers Spotted Using Cellphones, Traffic Report Shows

Jul 11 2016 // The number of California drivers using cellphones is rising, as are deaths and injuries blamed on distracted driving. The California Office of Traffic Safety reported in late June that nearly 13 percent of drivers were...

Judge in California Approves Lyft’s $27M Driver Settlement Deal

Jul 11 2016 // A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval to ride service Lyft’s $27 million settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by California drivers who claimed they should be deemed employees instead of independent...

Judge Allows Bulk of Starbucks Suit in California over Lattes to Proceed

Jul 11 2016 // A federal judge is allowing the bulk of a lawsuit accusing Starbucks of systematically under-filling lattes to move forward. Two California residents are suing the Seattle-based coffee chain, claiming that Starbucks lattes...

California’s Last Nuke Plant Would Be Closed by 2025 Under Deal

Jul 11 2016 // California’s last nuclear power plant will close by 2025 under an accord announced in June, ending three decades of safety debates that helped fuel the national anti-nuclear power movement. The state’s largest...

Applied Underwriters’ Workers’ Comp Business Faulted by California Regulator

Jul 11 2016 // California’s insurance commissioner said in late June a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. insurance business evaded a state law designed to protect small businesses from unexpected workers’ compensation...

Minor Quake Shakes Remote California Farm Country

Jul 8 2016 // A minor earthquake has shaken farmland in California’s Imperial County south of the Salton Sea. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 5:55 a.m. Thursday quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 and was centered four...

California Workers’ Comp is Biased Against Women, Suit States

Jul 8 2016 // California’s workers’ compensation system discriminates against women by judging benefits on the basis of stereotypes and ignoring harm done to women – such as refusing permanent benefits when a woman loses a...

California Insurers Group Hopes Governor Signs Airbnb Bill

Jul 8 2016 // Another bill dealing with the sharing economy is headed to the California governor’s desk. A bill to ensure homeowners and renters offering rooms for rent on hosting platforms like Airbnb and Home Away understand...

CSE Insurance Group Releases New Landlord Insurance Product in California

Jul 7 2016 // CSE Insurance Group, a West Coast property and casualty insurance provider, has released a new landlord insurance product to address the complete needs of landlords. The coverage is currently available in California, but...

Former NFL Player Arrested in California for Staged Collision Scheme

Jul 6 2016 // Former Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Jeffrey Leon Webb, 34, of Indio, was arrested on multiple felony counts after orchestrating four staged collisions resulting in a total loss exceeding $139,000. Webb and eight...