Latest California Headlines

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

Former California Agent Admits To Embezzling From Clients

Mar 7 2016 // Julie Diane Shinar, 44, of Long Beach, Calif., was convicted of theft by embezzlement in Long Beach Superior Court. Shinar was ordered to serve three years of formal probation and pay $29,158 in restitution to her...

California Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud

Mar 7 2016 // The owner of a Sacramento, Calif. construction company has pleaded guilty to tax evasion and workers’ comp insurance fraud. The Sacramento Bee reported that 47-year-old William Alan Huffman entered his plea last week...

Protector Holdings Acquires BetterWay Insurance in California

Mar 7 2016 // Protector Holdings has acquired Concord, Calif.-based BetterWay Insurance Services. Terms of the deal were not released. BetterWay specializes in providing insurance services to Hispanic consumers, and writes wries auto,...

Report: Most California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Decisions Upheld

Mar 7 2016 // An examination of California workers’ compensation independent medical review decisions shows roughly nine-in-10 of disputed medical service requests reviewed by an IMR physician agree with the utilization review...

California Commissioner, Allstate Agree to Homeowner Rate Reduction

Mar 7 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones reached an agreement last month with Allstate Insurance Co. and Allstate Indemnity Insurance to reduce the carrier’s homeowner insurance rates statewide by an average of...

People – West

Mar 7 2016 // Cypress, Calif.-based UCA General Insurance Services Inc. has named Frank Stipati president of the firm. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations and the profitability of UCA. Stipati has held various positions...

Google Self-Driving Car Hits Bus in California Crash

Mar 7 2016 // Alphabet Inc.’s Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in a minor crash, in what may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle. In a Feb. 23 report filed with California...

California’s Porter Ranch Blowout Highlights Evacuation Risk

Mar 7 2016 // Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series on the oil and gas industry. The first article covered the important changes that occurred in 2015 and the significance of the Porter Ranch, Calif., blowout that...

California Surplus Lines Association Elects Houska Chair, New Board

Mar 4 2016 // The members of the Surplus Line Association of California have elected Chris Houska, Western region managing director of R-T Specialty LLC, chair of the SLA Board of Directors. Houska’s election was finalized after...

California Court Says Utility Still on Hook for Housing Costs After Leak

Mar 4 2016 // A California appeals court has rejected efforts by a utility to stop housing Los Angeles residents driven from their homes by a gas leak that lasted almost four months. The 2nd District Court of Appeal denied a petition by...

Burnham Benefits in California Names Dix Account Executive

Mar 4 2016 // Irvine, Calif.-based Burnham Benefits Insurance Services Inc. has named Alexandra Dix as an account executive. Dix is an experienced broker consultant. She spent the previous six years at Moore Benefits before joining...

United Valley Adds Rasmussen to Management Staff in California

Mar 3 2016 // United Valley Insurance Services Inc. has named Eric Rasmussen member relationship manager. Rasmussen’s responsibilities include handling front line relationships with California member agencies as well as recruiting...

Allstate Rideshare Coverage Approved in California

Mar 3 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has approved a new rideshare insurance product from Allstate Insurance. The Allstate coverage is for for people driving for transportation network companies like Uber and...

Timeline: Workplace Shootings in U.S. Over Past 5 Years

Mar 3 2016 // On Feb. 25, 15 people at a Kansas factory were shot, three of them killed, by a co-worker whom police say had also shot two other people as he drove toward the facility. The shooting at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas,...

Mother Nature More Relaxed in 2015

Mar 2 2016 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. A review of 2015 natural hazard events revealed an overall reduction in property damage for the year. While this does not minimize the local impact of individual events...

‘Bond King’ Gross Accuses PIMCO of Falsely Claiming He Abandoned Firm

Mar 2 2016 // Bond fund manager Bill Gross on Tuesday accused Pacific Investment Management Co. of falsely claiming he suddenly decided to abandon the firm he co-founded in an effort to win dismissal of his $200 million...

Google Takes Partial Blame After Self-Driving Car Hit Bus

Mar 1 2016 // Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Monday it bears “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a municipal bus in a minor crash earlier this month. The crash may be the first case of one...

Stone Creek Brings on Hansen in California

Feb 29 2016 // Lafayette, Calif.-based Stone Creek Insurance Agency has named Maridel Hansen front office manager in its Northern California office. Hansen has more than 10 years of insurance experience ranging in duties from supervision...

EPIC Adds Hall as P/C Broker in California

Feb 29 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has hired Steve Hall as a property/casualty insurance broker/producer. Hall will be based in EPIC’s Concord, Calif. office and report to Curt Perata, regional director of...

Google Self-Driving Car Hits Bus in California Crash

Feb 29 2016 // Alphabet Inc.’s Google self-driving car struck a municipal bus in a minor crash, in what may be the first case of one of its autonomous cars hitting another vehicle. In a Feb. 23 report filed with California...