Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lobbyist, Committee Consultant Joins California Insurance Association Staff
Jan 26 2009 // Mark Sektnan, a veteran Sacramento, Calif., lobbyist and committee consultant, joined The Association of California Insurance Companies’ (ACIC) staff as vice president with primary responsibility for advocacy of...
California Appeals Court Reverses Pollution Liability Decision
Jan 25 2009 // The 4th District of the California Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court decision in a pollution liability case, State of California v. Continental Insurance Co. et al. The decision is likely to influence courts...
Duty to Defend Greater than Duty to Indemnify
Jan 25 2009 // A Subcontractor’s Contractual Obligation to Defend Exists Regardless of Negligence A July 2008 decision on a piece of litigation in the California Supreme Court affirmed the duty to defend concept as being greater...
California AG Sues Operators and Pilot for San Francisco Bay Oil Spill
Jan 22 2009 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response, State Lands Commission and State Water Boards against the...
California Insurance Commissioner Seeks Disability Changes
Jan 21 2009 // For the second time in two months, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is being accused by his predecessor, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, of proposing regulation changes that will weaken consumer protections. The latest...
Schwarzenegger Makes Three Workers’ Comp Insurance Appointments
Jan 21 2009 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced three workers’ compensation insurance-related appointments: Greg Aghazarian, Daniel Curtin and Steven Rank. Aghazarian, 44, of Stockton, has been appointed to the...
New York’s NIF Group Acquires California’s HDR
Jan 16 2009 // Manhasset, New York-based specialty insurance firm NIF Group has acquired HDR Insurance Services of Sacramento, California. HDR specializes in providing innovative programs for independent agents. HDR will continue to...
California Insurance Department Cuts Operating Budget 10%
Jan 14 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced he will permanently reduce the size of the Department of Insurance’s discretionary budget by 10 percent. “When I took office, CDI had a multi-million...
Markel Acquires California’s Child Welfare Insurance Services
Jan 14 2009 // Markel Insurance Co. has acquired the property and casualty insurance renewal rights of Child Welfare Insurance Services effective Dec. 31, 2008. Rhonda Sciortino, founder and chief executive officer of Child Welfare...
California Wildfires May Take Longer to Settle
Jan 11 2009 // Industry analysts are predicting insured losses from the Freeway Complex, Sayre and Tea Fires that burned Southern California in mid-November will range from $600 million to $800 million, as of estimates gathered in early...
New California Licensing Laws Take Effect
Jan 11 2009 // The California Department of Insurance is reminding producers of new licensing laws that took effect Jan. 1, 2009, as a result of the passage of Assembly Bill 2044. Several changes resulted from the bill, including many...
Actual Cash Value Versus Replacement Cost Value
Jan 11 2009 // Navigating the Valuation Quagmire As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. And insurance agents would be wise to explain the differences between actual cash value (ACV) and replacement cost value (RCV) to...
Surplus Line Association of California Stamping Office Celebrates 70 Years
Jan 11 2009 // The Surplus Line Association of California’s Stamping Office is celebrating its 70th anniversary. On Dec. 1, 1938, then California Insurance Commissioner Rex B. Goodcell and Assistant Commissioner Harold B. Haas...
States Rate Poorly on Consumer Insurance Information on Web
Jan 11 2009 // A national consumer group says state insurance departments vary in the quality of the information they provide consumers online, with differences in the usefulness of information such as the rates and practices of...
California Workers’ Compensation Premiums Down in 2008
Jan 11 2009 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has completed its report summarizing insurer loss and premium experience through Sept. 30, 2008. WCIRB said: “California written premium (gross of...
Take Control of Your Workers’ Comp Costs
Jan 11 2009 // What’s happened to workers’ compensation reform in California? The 2003 legislation enacted strict medical guidelines, followed the next year with a compensation schedule for medical provider networks and it...
California Workers’ Compensation Insurers File for Rate Increases
Jan 11 2009 // The California Department of Insurance has approved rate increases for several workers’ compensation insurers. California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner had recommended a 5 percent increase in his rate...
California Hosts Insurance Recovery Forum for Wildfire Survivors
Jan 9 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is hosting town hall-style Insurance Recovery Forums for survivors of the November 2008 wildfires. The first of such town hall meetings was held Jan. 8 in Sylmar, Calif....
California Massage Parlors Shut Down, 1 Fined $2M
Jan 7 2009 // Five massage parlors in Arcadia, Calif., were shut down for alleged labor code violations include one location fined nearly $2 million. Arcadia police accompanied California Employee Development Department and Department...
California Appeals Court Reverses Pollution Liability Decision
Jan 7 2009 // The 4th District of the California Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court decision in a pollution liability case, State of California v. Continental Insurance Co. et al. Policyholders are entitled to the full policy...
