Latest California Headlines

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

California Employment Department Rules Former Uber Driver Was Employee

Sep 10 2015 // Uber has lost another legal round in the dispute over whether its drivers are independent contractors or employees, an issue that threatens the core of the ride-hailing company’s business model. The California...

California Struggles with Wildfires, Thunderstorms, Triple-Digit Heat

Sep 9 2015 // Wildfires burned amid a week of triple-digit temperatures across California, while some sections of the state saw sudden thunderstorms and flash floods. High temperatures were expected from Sacramento to San Bernardino,...

California Climate Change Bills Unlikely to See Easy Passage

Sep 9 2015 // California lawmakers negotiated frantically behind the scenes on Tuesday over the fate of several proposals to dramatically reduce the state’s use of fossil fuels and slash the amount of greenhouse gases that legally...

“Biggie Award” Winners Announced at Big Minivention

Sep 9 2015 // BIG Independent Group Awards Accolades at Annual Northern California Event Rancho Cucamonga, CA, September 9, 2015 – The BIG Independent Group (www.biginsusa.com), an association of independent insurance agents and...

People – West

Sep 7 2015 // The IMA Financial Group Inc. has named Robin Heller its chief technology and operating officer in Denver, Colo. In the newly created role, Heller will oversee strategic technology development. Prior to IMA Heller was...

Calif. Man Hurt in Trolley Station Fall Gets $21.5M Insurance Settlment

Sep 7 2015 // An Imperial Beach, Calif., man who was injured when he tripped and fell on trolley tracks is receiving a $21.5 million insurance settlement. Fifty-seven-year-old David Long was injured in May 2013 when he stepped off the...

California WCIRB Proposes Premium 7.8% Below 2015 Average

Sep 7 2015 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has submitted its Jan. 1, 2016, pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance proposing advisory pure premium rates that average $2.45 per $100...

Geico Agrees to $6M Settlement over Business Practices in California

Sep 7 2015 // Geico has agreed to pay $6 million dollars and implement several changes to their business practices as part of a settlement with the California Department of Insurance, CDI announced late last month. The settlement stems...

California Commissioner Applauds Supreme Court Decision Against Hartford

Sep 7 2015 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones praised a recent unanimous California Supreme Court decision that he said ensures policyholders are protected from insurers refusing to cover third-party liability claims when...

Study: Ventura, Oxnard in California Could Be at Greater Tsunami Risk

Sep 7 2015 // A study says two California coastal cities are at greater risk from tsunamis than previously thought. The study released in August by the American Geophysical Union examined the flooding risk if earthquake faults in the...

California Insurance Company Oversight Law Signed

Sep 7 2015 // California Gov. Jerry Brown in late August signed Assembly Bill 553, which establishes new oversight aimed at reducing the number of insurance company insolvencies. AB 553 was authored by Assemblyman Tom Daly, D-Anaheim,...

Uber Headache if More Drivers Want Full-Time Status

Sep 7 2015 // Thousands of new full-time workers would spring into existence if Uber is forced to stop treating some of its drivers like contract workers, and the benefits that come with that employee status may entice part-time...

Former California Probation Officer Nabbed for Fraud While on Probation

Sep 7 2015 // A former Los Angeles County probation officer, Robyn Palmer, 29, of Long Beach, Calif., was arrested in late August on six felony counts of insurance fraud for allegedly forging documents to illegally collect disability...

Federal Government Suing Southern California Edison over 2009 Fire

Sep 7 2015 // Just days before the federal statute of limitations would have run out, the government has filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison in connection to a 2009 fire that primarily burned the San Bernardino National...

Hub International Acquires Agencies in Washington and California

Sep 3 2015 // Hub International Ltd. has acquired the assets of Arrow Insurance Service Inc. in Simi Valley, Calif. and it has acquired the assets of EmSpring Corp. in Washington. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. Arrow provides...

Uber Fails to Block Drivers From Suing as Group for Tips in California

Sep 3 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc. will have to defend a group lawsuit brought by drivers seeking the pay and benefits of employees. The judge’s ruling may slow the company’s growth and cut into its $50 billion valuation....

California Supreme Court and the Coming Assignment-of-Benefits Gold Rush

Sep 3 2015 // The California Supreme Court recently decided to break with its own precedent and declare that insurers can’t stop policyholders from assigning the benefits of their policies before a claim is settled. Like many...

Allianz Names Shumaker Team Leader in California

Sep 2 2015 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has named Matthew Shumaker to a team leader position for the Los Angeles, Calif. and Mountain states territory. Shumaker will be based out of the Irvine, Calif. field office. He...

Three Northern California Firms Rebrand to ‘Risico’

Sep 2 2015 // Three jointly-owned insurance firms in Northern California are merging into a united corporate identity known as “Risico.” The firms involved are KRM Risk Management Services Inc., American All-Risk Loss...

California Uber Drivers Get Class Action Status in Employment Suit

Sep 2 2015 // Uber drivers are entitled to class action status in litigation over whether they are independent contractors or employees, a key development in a case threatening Uber’s business model and that of other hot startups...