Latest California Headlines

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

NFP Acquires Vanorsdale Insurance Services in California

Dec 30 2015 // NFP Property & Casualty has acquired San Diego, Calif.-based Vanorsdale Insurance Services Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The firm’s president, Doug Galloway, will assume the role of director of NFP...

Judge Orders PG&E to Face Most Charges in Deadly California Pipeline Blast

Dec 30 2015 // Pacific Gas & Electric Co. must face the most serious charges related to a 2010 explosion that killed eight people in a San Francisco suburb as the utility heads to a jury trial next year over claims it ignored the...

Ridesharing Dominates 2016 Western Region Headlines

Dec 30 2015 // Goodbye to the news year 2015, and while there will be no shortage of headline-making topics to associate with the passing year, there was one subject that dominated Insurance Journal’s Western region news...

California Earthquake Authority’s 2016 Changes Aim to Increase Policy Count

Dec 29 2015 // It’s about the closest thing to DIY earthquake insurance as one can get, though there’s definitely no indication that the newest consumer-friendly features being rolled out by the California Earthquake...

California Wildfire Contained, Now Comes Worries About Landslides

Dec 29 2015 // As firefighters mopped up the remains of a wildfire on the Southern California coast, authorities turned their focus to a new concern: a landslide if rain pounds the charred hills. In a heavy rain, the denuded soil could...

Expert: How Payroll Misclassification Impacts California Workers’ Comp

Dec 29 2015 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv Premium misclassification or payroll misclassification is a significant issue for the workers’ compensation industry, according to Bret Shroyer, a solutions architect for Denver,...

Heffernan Executive Named Chair of California Trucking Association Chapter

Dec 29 2015 // Owen Oakley, vice president at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, has been named chairman for the San Francisco chapter of the California Trucking Association. Owen previously served as a steering and planning committee...

Apple Seeks $180M More in Patent Damages from Samsung

Dec 29 2015 // Just over a week after Samsung paid Apple more than $548 million for infringing the patents and designs of the iPhone, Apple asked a U.S. court to force its biggest smartphone rival to cough up even more. In court papers...

California T Ferraris Recalled Over Possible Fuel Leaks

Dec 28 2015 // Ferrari North America Inc. recalled the 2016 California T convertibles it made over a two-month period this year because of the risk of fuel leaks. The California Ts produced between Sept. 8 and Nov. 11 may have a...

Judge Slows Outcome of California Uber Drivers’ Suit

Dec 28 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc. won a ruling that may put off the outcome of a bid by California drivers to be treated as employees in a lawsuit that has grown dramatically in both size and potential liability. U.S. District Judge...

Former Southern California Insurance Broker Found Guilty of Stealing Premiums

Dec 23 2015 // Mia Chang, 51, former insurance broker and owner of Lotte Insurance Services in Southern California, was sentenced for felony insurance fraud and grand theft. Moments after her arrest Chang returned $19,218 in stolen...

Owners of Hotel Cleaning Firm in California Charged with $7M Workers’ Comp Fraud

Dec 23 2015 // The owners of a janitorial company serving luxury hotels in Southern California and Nevada are charged with running a $7 million workers’ compensation insurance and tax evasion scam, prosecutors announced...

Heffernan Names Mason Assistant Vice President in California

Dec 23 2015 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has named Christopher Mason as assistant vice president of employee benefits in its San Francisco, Calif. office. Mason previously has worked with employee benefit brokers and human resource...

Socius Names Bell Senior Vice President in California

Dec 22 2015 // San Francisco Socius Insurance Services Inc. has named Ian Bell senior vice president. Bell joined Socius Insurance Services in 2013 and works on the firm’s management and professional liability team. Socius...

M.J. Hall Names Marsh Assistant Vice President in California

Dec 22 2015 // M.J. Hall and Company Inc. has promoted Sarah Marsh to assistant vice president. Marsh is part of the firm’s Stockton, Calif. team. She will continue to underwrite and broker excess and surplus line business in the...

At Least $243M for Cleanup From 2 Massive California Fires

Dec 21 2015 // Cleaning up from two destructive Northern California wildfires this fall will cost at least $243 million, far exceeding the cost for other recent blazes, state officials estimated as they transferred more money from the...

Reforms May Have Caused Drop in Medical Payments in California, Study Shows

Dec 21 2015 // Medical payments per claim in California fell 5 percent in 2013 for claims with more than seven days of lost time at 12 months of experience, a trend that likely reflects the early impact of the 2012 workers’...

Uber Winning Support for Classifying Drivers as Contractors

Dec 21 2015 // State legislators in Ohio and Florida are moving ahead with regulations governing Uber and other ride services that would designate all drivers as independent contractors, bolstering a critical but much-disputed aspect of...

Judge in California Grants Class Action in Farmers Female Attorneys Suit

Dec 21 2015 // A U.S. District judge in California earlier this month granted class action status to a suit brought by female attorneys against Farmers Insurance for discriminatory practices. The initial suit was filed on behalf of Lynne...

Southern California Man Arrested for Fraud After Crashing BMW in Race

Dec 21 2015 // After Andres Hernandez, 36, of Lakewood, Calif., totaled his BMW while racing, he then allegedly then provided false statements to his insurer about the location of the collision. He was paid $64,860 for the claim, and was...