Latest California Headlines

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

California Firm Issues Fruit Recall Nationwide

Jul 23 2014 // A Central California company has issued a voluntary nationwide recall of specific lots of its fresh peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots over concerns of possible listeria contamination. Wawona Packing says on its website...

Kaufman Dolowoich & Voluck Taps Castoria in California

Jul 23 2014 // Louis Castoria has been named partner and director of the West Coast professional liability practice group at Kaufman Dolowoich & Voluck. Castoria will work out of the San Francisco, Calif. office. His practice focuses...

Vits Joins Burnham Benefits as Senior Account Executive in California

Jul 21 2014 // Burnham Benefits Insurance Services named Helen Vits a senior account executive in its Irvine, Calif. office. Vits will consult with Burnham clients as they structure their employee benefit packages. Vits’ career in...

AP Finds That Wildfire Citations in California Applied Unevenly

Jul 21 2014 // A review by The Associated Press of California government data has found a wide discrepancy in how state and local fire officials apply fines and citations for failing to clear vegetation in areas prone to wildland...

EPIC Purchases Jenkins Insurance Services in California

Jul 21 2014 // The shareholders of Jenkins Insurance Services have sold 100 percent of their shares to Edgewood Partners Insurance Center. Terms of the deal, which closed on July 17, were not disclosed. Jenkins has California offices in...

As America Overall Ages with Boomers, Energy States See Youth Boom

Jul 21 2014 // Seven states, including five in the Great Plains, saw their median age decline between 2012 and 2013, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. At the same time, the median age for the United States as a whole ticked up...

California Commissioner Sued by UnitedHealth Over Fine

Jul 21 2014 // UnitedHealth Group has sued California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to block a $173.6 million fine the insurer incurred for violations during a botched acquisition. The lawsuit was filed in early July in Orange County...

Home Emergency Insurance Relaunches Protection Plans in California

Jul 21 2014 // HomeServe USA’s subsidiary Home Emergency Insurance Solutions is relaunching its optional Water Service Line Insurance plans as home protection plans to more than 425,000 households across the state of California. A...

Report: $100M in Losses from Southern California Quake

Jul 21 2014 // The moderate earthquake that struck Southern California in spring did more damage than people may think – and a bigger quake on that fault could be more devastating than a “big one” on the region’s...

People – West

Jul 21 2014 // Cindy Belcher has been promoted to chief operating officer of Los Angeles, Calif.-based Cooperative of American Physicians Inc. Her promotion coincides with the announcement by CEO James L. Weidner that he will retire...

Rite Aid Settles California Lawsuit for Nearly $500,000

Jul 21 2014 // Rite Aid will pay nearly a half-million dollars to settle California claims that it didn’t follow consumer protection rules. The settlement, approved in early July in San Diego, also calls for the drugstore chain to...

Woodruff-Sawyer Names Delaney Vice President in Southern California

Jul 18 2014 // Karen K. Delaney has been named vice president and Southern California employee benefits market leader at Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. Delaney will work with the firm’s leadership and provide marketing solutions to...

California Workers’ Comp Officials Continue to Praise Reforms

Jul 17 2014 // Touting California’s still-young workers’ compensation reform law as a “pragmatic middle” compromise that seems to be working, two of the top officials responsible for the system talked up some of...

Analysis: NFL Concussion Decision Could Change Liability Policies

Jul 16 2014 // Insurance industry professionals and attorneys are closely following the most recent concussion-based litigations as they proceed through state and federal courts. Just last week in the well-publicized In re National...

Leavitt Pacific in Northern California Name Miller Safety Specialist

Jul 16 2014 // Leavitt Pacific Insurance Brokers in San Jose, Calif. has hired Alex Miller as a safety specialist. Miller will focus on assisting organizations develop effective loss prevention programs. Prior to joining the agency,...

Water Wasters in California Could Be Fined $500 A Day

Jul 16 2014 // In one of the most drastic responses yet to California’s drought, state regulators on Tuesday will consider fines up to $500 a day for people who waste water on landscaping, fountains, washing vehicles and other...

Drought Threatens To Dry Up California Farm Wells

Jul 16 2014 // Farmers in pockets of California hardest hit by the drought could begin to see their wells run dry a year from now if rain and snow remain scarce in the agriculturally rich state, according to a study released...

Heffernan Names Thomas Vice President in Southern California

Jul 15 2014 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has tapped Lawrence Thomas to join its Orange County, Calif. branch as assistant vice president. Thomas will focus on building the nonprofit, entertainment and fashion apparel manufacturing...

Presson Joins Woodruff-Sawyer’s Employee Benefits in California

Jul 15 2014 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. named Anne Presson director of benefits innovation. Presson will focus on developing, piloting and implementing new strategies for the employee benefits practice. Prior...

USG Insurance adds Chang in Southern California

Jul 15 2014 // USG Insurance Services Inc. added Perry Chang as producer/broker in its Irvine, Calif. office. Chang most recently held the position of broker at Scottish American. Past positions include vice president of sales at Artisan...