Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Hospital Workers’ Comp Report Shows Claim Severity on Rise
Feb 22 2016 // California workers’ compensation claim severity continues to increase, while claims frequency declines, according a newly released report. The latest California hospital report benchmarking workers’ comp costs...
Record Number of Flood Policies Bought by Californians, FEMA Says
Feb 19 2016 // Federal emergency officials reported Tuesday a surge in the number of California residents who have purchased flood insurance, most likely in response to a rainy El Niño winter. Officials with the Federal Emergency...
Report: Most California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Decisions Upheld
Feb 18 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 Bay Area Town Bans Short-term Rentals
Feb 18 2016 // A picturesque town in the San Ramon Valley, Calif. has banned residents from operating short-term rentals. The Contra Costa Times reported that Danville’s town council voted 4-to-1 Tuesday to prohibit rentals of...
Southern California Gas Co. Pleads Innocent in Methane Leak
Feb 18 2016 // Southern California Gas Co pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges it waited three days to report a huge methane leak that has forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes, officials for the...
California Commissioner, Allstate Agree to Homeowner Rate Reduction
Feb 17 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has reached an agreement with Allstate Insurance Co. and Allstate Indemnity Insurance to reduce the carrier’s homeowner insurance rates statewide by an average of 12.6...
California: 49M Records Breached in 4 Years
Feb 17 2016 // More than 49 million personal information records of California residents were compromised in 657 data breaches from 2012 to 2015, state Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a report citing tips on how people and...
Pacific Specialty in California Promotes Guthrie, Kaufman
Feb 12 2016 // William Guthrie was named chief risk officer, and Melissa Kaufman was named vice president of product development of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Pacific Specialty Insurance Co. Pacific Specialty is part of the McGraw Group of...
California Workers’ Comp Institute Names Langille General Counsel
Feb 12 2016 // Ellen Sims Langille was named general counsel of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. Langille will manage the CWCI’s internal and external legal affairs. She will also serve as staff liaison to the...
California Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Tribe Through Workers’ Comp Scam
Feb 12 2016 // A Northern California man has pleaded guilty to defrauding an Indian tribe for millions of dollars as part of a workers’ compensation scam. The Sacramento Bee reported that 46-year-old Gregory Chmielewski last month...
Uber to Pay $28M to Settle Claims over Its ‘Safe Rides Fee’
Feb 12 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. said it will pay $28.5 million to settle claims that a $1 “safe rides fee” charged to riders was misleading because its background checks on drivers aren’t as rigorous as the...
California Department of Insurance Investigating Zenefits
Feb 12 2016 // Zenefits has been under investigation by the California Department of Insurance since last year, the state agency disclosed, saying the resignation of co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Parker Conrad earlier this week...
Mulholland and MCV in California Merge with Leavitt Group
Feb 11 2016 // Mulholland Insurance and MCV Insurance has merged operations with Leavitt United Insurance Services. Both agencies are based in California. MCV Insurance is based in Lodi, and Mulholland Insurance is based in Elk...
P/C Retail, Wholesale Agency 2015 M&A Highlights by Region, State
Feb 10 2016 // When agency consultants at Reagan Consulting hosted more than 150 industry leaders at a workshop on agent/broker mergers and acquisitions (M&A) recently, the mood was upbeat, since brokers are enjoying their best...
Self-Driving Vehicles Meet Their Match When Snow Creates Sensor Blindness
Feb 10 2016 // In Jokkmokk, a tiny hamlet just north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, where temperatures can dip to 50 below, Volvo Cars’ self-driving XC90 sport-utility vehicle met its match: frozen flakes that caked on radar...
Fire Danger Elevated in Southern California
Feb 9 2016 // Southern California is in for another day of increased fire danger as gusty Santa Ana winds and unseasonably warm temperatures bring down humidity levels. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for large...
Auto Insurance Specialists Acquires Suncal Insurance Services
Feb 9 2016 // Agency acquisition complements AIS’s strong record of internal growth. Cerritos, CA, February 9, 2016 – Auto Insurance Specialists (AIS) today announced the acquisition of Suncal Insurance Services based in...
Hub International Names Owens Senior Vice President in California
Feb 8 2016 // Hub International Ltd. has named Sara Owens senior vice president of engagement. Owens will be responsible for engaging key constituents of Hub’s Los Angeles, Calif. operation, including community leaders, business...
California Hospital Workers’ Comp Report Shows Claim Severity on Rise
Feb 8 2016 // California workers’ compensation claim severity continues to increase, while claims frequency declines, according a newly released report. The latest California hospital report benchmarking workers’ comp costs...
New Jersey 4th State to Sue Volkswagen Over Excess Diesel Emissions
Feb 8 2016 // New Jersey on Friday, Feb. 5, filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen AG and its luxury units over the German automaker’s excess diesel emissions, becoming the fourth U.S. state to take legal action. New Jersey’s...
