Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Santa Barbara Wildfire Increase 448%, Insurers Ready for Calls
May 8 2009 // A wildfire that began on May 5 in Santa Barbara County, Calif., continues to burn, increasing 448 percent from 500 acres burned yesterday to 2,739 acres burned and at least 20 homes destroyed as of this morning, according...
MetLife Home & Auto Adds Two Sales Managers in California
May 7 2009 // MetLife Home & Auto has added two sales managers to it staff in California. San Juan Capistrano, calif., resident Ken Potter is regional sales manager, overseeing the company’s growth plans in Orange County....
Court: Safeco Must Disclose Who it Surcharged for Auto Insurance
May 6 2009 // Seattle-based Safeco Insurance Co. will be required to disclose which customers it surcharged due to their lack of prior continuous automobile insurance coverage, the California Court of Appeal in Los Angeles has...
Insurance Alliance Declares $4.2 Million Dividend to California Nonprofits
May 6 2009 // The Board of Directors of the Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC) has declared a dividend to be paid to nonprofit members in California. During 2009 and 2010, a dividend of $4.2 million will be paid...
Huff Appointed California Chief Deputy Commissioner
May 5 2009 // Jesse Huff has been appointed Chief Deputy Commissioner for the California Department of Insurance effective June 1. Huff will replace outgoing Chief Deputy Jim Richardson, who is leaving CDI to be the president of The...
California Commissioner Files Amicus Briefs for Workers’ Comp En Banc Decisions
May 5 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has filed amicus briefs in the appeal of the Ogilvie v. City and County of San Francisco, Almaraz v. Environmental Recovery Services and Guzman v. Milpitas Unified School...
California Remains Top Spot for Vehicle Thefts
May 4 2009 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that 2008 marked the nation’s fifth consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts in the United States. Although most areas experienced a reduction in vehicle theft,...
2009 California, Washington Wildfire Activity Predicted To Be Above Normal
May 4 2009 // Northern California, where nearly a million acres burned last summer, is poised to possibly be another hotspot for wildfire activity in 2009, according to the Fire Season Outlook released by the Predictive Services group...
Mercury General Reports Implements Salary Freeze, 7% Workforce Reduction
May 4 2009 // Mercury General reported net income in the first quarter 2009 was $96.7 million compared with net loss of $4 million for the same period in 2008. Included in net income are net realized investment gains, net of tax, of...
California Regulator, Association Warn of Flu Implications
May 1 2009 // The Insurance Information Network of California is warning insurance agents that the current outbreak of swine flu has implications not only for travelers and businesses, but for their insurers as well. Following are types...
USG Expands with Two New Offices
Apr 30 2009 // USG Insurance Services Inc, a national wholesale broker of commercial insurance is expanding operations with the addition of a new office in Irvine, Calif. The creation of the new southern California office is the first of...
Concrete Falls From Crumbling California Freeway Overpass
Apr 29 2009 // Tennis ball-sized chunks of concrete falling from a crumbling span of Interstate Highway 5 forced the California Highway Patrol to shut down freeway lanes for hours. The incident marked the third time this year that...
California Commissioner Asks Workers’ Comp Board to Withdraw Rate Increase
Apr 28 2009 // At a rate hearing on Tuesday, April 28, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner urged the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) to withdraw its request for an increase in the workers’...
California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Revises Rate Recommendation
Apr 24 2009 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has revised its recommended pure premium rate increase of 24.4 percent downward to 23.7 percent. On March 27, 2009, the WCIRB submitted a pure premium...
Bissell Named Chair of Association of California Insurance Companies
Apr 23 2009 // Kathleen Bissell, assistant vice president of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., has been elected chair of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) Board of Directors at the association’s annual...
California Commissioner Offers Green Insurance Tips in Honor of Earth Day
Apr 23 2009 // In observance of Earth Day yesterday, California Insurance Commissioner Poizner today offered tips for making homes — and insurance — greener in the Golden State. “California has consistently been a...
California AG Sues Wells Fargo Affiliates for Defrauded Investors
Apr 23 2009 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed suit against three Wells Fargo affiliates to recover $1.5 billion for California investors who purchased auction-rate securities based on “false and...
California AIG Sylmar Wildfire Survivors To Receive Additional Coverage
Apr 22 2009 // The California Department of Insurance (CDI) has secured between $37 million and $46 million in additional coverage from AIG for Sayre Fire survivors in Sylmar. Commissioner Poizner was joined by Los Angeles City...
Watchdog Group Ranks Best, Worst States in Disciplining Doctors
Apr 22 2009 // Most states, including California and Florida, are failing to adequately discipline doctors who are practicing substandard medicine, according to the latest annual ranking of state medical boards by the watchdog group...
Signs Around Los Angeles Beaches Warn of Tsunami Threat
Apr 20 2009 // Like many Californians who put down roots in earthquake country, Robin Rudisill knows the “Big One” could strike without warning. Yet from her Venice beachfront duplex, Rudisill worries about a different...
