Latest California Headlines

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

Hundreds Victim to California Rainstorms

Dec 22 2010 // Following a series of powerful storms that brought heavy, record-setting rain, snow and high winds to California, insurers report their employees are on-hand to help victims. Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has...

California Rain Shatters Records; More Coming

Dec 21 2010 // A storm walloped parts of California with up to 7 inchesof rain and spawned minor flooding, mudslides and road closures Dec. 20, but forecasters warn the bad weather’s real impact may be yet to come. More than 3...

State Inaction Risks Loss of Surplus Lines Premium Tax Revenue

Dec 21 2010 // The States appear poised, through inaction, to leave untold millions of dollars in premium tax revenue “on the table” when the Nonadmitted Insurance and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) becomes the law of the land...

Washington Hearing Possible on Calif. Gas Pipe Explosion

Dec 21 2010 // Federal investigators may subpoena witnesses to testify in Washington about the deadly Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif. National Transportation Safety Board member Mark...

Fact or Fiction? Insurance Tidbits of Known and Little-Known Information

Dec 20 2010 // Have you ever wondered what big events helped shape regulation of the current U.S. insurance industry? Or if drivers of certain cars have more risk? What about the most attractive insurance job in the industry? These are...

Study: Texting Bans Don’t Reduce Crashes

Dec 17 2010 // It’s illegal to text while driving in most U.S. states yet a new study finds such bans do not reduce car accidents and may actually increase insurance claims. Researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI)...

California and Feds Sign Earthquake Plan

Dec 16 2010 // California and federal emergency responders have signed a plan designed to respond to a disastrous earthquake in Southern California. A similar state-federal pact was developed two years ago for dealing with a quake in...

Calif. Commissioner Removes 4 From Barred Iran Investments List

Dec 15 2010 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has removed Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands), Shell International Finance (Netherlands), Total SA (France), and...

Dec. 15 Most Dangerous Day for California Drivers

Dec 14 2010 // More Californians crash their cars on December 15 than any other day of the year, according to an Allstate Insurance Co. review of its California auto insurance claims over the past four years. The number of accident...

Calif. Workers’ Comp Indemnity Claim Costs Significantly Higher

Dec 14 2010 // California’s workers’ comp insurers wrote approximately 10 percent more premium the first nine months of 2010 compared to 2009, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of...

Appeals Court in California Reverses Itself in Armenian Insurance Suit

Dec 13 2010 // A federal appeals court last Friday reversed itself and now says the heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire can seek payment from companies that sold their relatives life insurance. The 9th U.S. Circuit...

Calif. Assemblyman Villines to Serve on Flood Protection Board

Dec 9 2010 // Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed former Assembly minority leader Michael Villines to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board Villines lost a bid for state insurance commissioner last month. The new...

Cal/OSHA Implements Updated Heat Safety Regulations

Dec 9 2010 // Cal/OSHA has implmented a new standard to protect employees who work with diacetyl, a chemical commonly used to give food flavorings a buttery taste. Cal/OSHA, a division of the California Department of Industrial...

Calif. State Fund Consolidating Business Operations

Dec 9 2010 // California State Compensation Insurance Fund, the state’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance, announced it is consolidating its business operations, a move it expects will save nearly $200...

Mercury Insurance Cuts Calif. Auto Rates About 10%

Dec 9 2010 // Mercury Insurance announced a $72-million rate reduction for California drivers that includes a rate decrease that could reach up to 10% or more, a new group affiliation discount for university alumni, and the inclusion of...

California Employers See Lower Ex-Mods With New Rating Formula

Dec 8 2010 // California employers, by and large, saw lower experience modifications in 2010, thanks to changes to the experience rating formula. On Nov. 9, 2009, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner issued a decision...

Calif. Division of Workers’ Comp Names Appointees to Ethics Advisory Committee

Dec 8 2010 // California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) acting Administrative Director Carrie Nevans has appointed the Hon. Alice Vilardi as chair of the workers’ compensation ethics advisory committee, and...

Calif. Insurance Regulator Highlights His Achievements

Dec 7 2010 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has issued a report card highlighting the progress of the Department of Insurance during the past four years, including his successful efforts to maintain solvency and...

Insurance Industry Outlook Improving, Slightly

Dec 6 2010 // The insurance industry is recovering from the economic crisis, but profits are nowhere near where they were prior to the crisis, and it will take California longer than other states to rebound, according to an industry...

California Self-Insured Group Declared in Default

Dec 5 2010 // The Contractors Access Program of California (CAP), a self insured group, has been declared in default due to insufficient funding required for continued operation, California’s Department of Industrial Relations...