Latest California Headlines

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

Ludt Joins Lawson-Hawks Team

Jan 23 2008 // John Miller, chief executive officer of Lawson-Hawks Insurance Associates announced the recent addition of Michael Ludt of Irvine, Calif., as a broker for the Healthcare/Medical Malpractice Division for the Mountain...

U.S. Releases New Disaster Response and Recovery Plan

Jan 23 2008 // The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a comprehensive plan for what the country must do to have a more effective and unified response and recovery in disaster situations. DHS said that the new plan, called...

California AG Approves Uninsured Motorist Ballot Initiative

Jan 22 2008 // A proposed measure that would require California state and local law enforcement officers to remove the license plates of any vehicle lacking proof of insurance and current valid registration is one step closer to reaching...

Brass, Cuneo and Lowe Appointed to California WC Appeals Board

Jan 18 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointments of Frank Brass, James Cuneo and Deidra Lowe to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). All appointments are subject to...

California Agents Brace for Rising WC Rates, Sluggish Economy

Jan 18 2008 // In the largest survey of its kind, fewer than half of California’s 10,000 business insurance agents see California’s business economy improving – either for themselves or for their clients – in...

Flooding is ‘Next Big Disaster’ in Store for Calif., Say Engineers

Jan 18 2008 // While flooding in California’s Central Valley is “the next big disaster waiting to happen,” water-related infrastructure issues confront almost every community across the country, according to engineers...

Networked Insurance Agents Opens New Territory in So. Calif.

Jan 17 2008 // Networked Insurance Agents, a national provider of markets, programs, and placement services to insurance agents, has appointed Cindy DeKay as territorial sales vice president for Metro Los Angeles. DeKay comes to...

Calif. Title Insurers to Pay $3.5M for Alleged Unfair Rating Practices

Jan 17 2008 // Commissioner Poizner Announces $3.5 Million Settlement with LandAmerica Corporation, $2 Million Refunded to Customers Commonwealth Land Title, Lawyers Title, and Transnation Title agree to Cease and Desist from unfair...

ISO: Insurers to Pay $6.5 Billion in 2007 Catastrophe Claims

Jan 14 2008 // U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses $6.5 billion for 2007 property losses from 23 catastrophes — the eighth lowest cost in a decade and the seventh lowest frequency for the same...

Genstar Capital, Execs Create National Brokerage for Hispanic Consumers

Jan 14 2008 // San Francisco-based Genstar Capital LLC, a middle market private equity firm, has partnered with insurance industry executives and Westline Corp. to establish Confie Seguros, a platform company formed to facilitate the...

Deregulation Pushing Banks Into Insurance Industry

Jan 13 2008 // As the financial services industry has evolved since deregulation, there has been a rise in “bancassurance: the joint effort of banks and insurers to provide insurance services to the bank’s customer...

People

Jan 13 2008 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, appointed John Nilson senior vice president, western region for ACE Risk Management. Nilson will be based in Los Angeles and oversee ARM...

Fraud Roundup

Jan 13 2008 // ‘Rent-a-Patient’ Doctor Sentenced to Nearly Five Years A doctor who paid patients so he could carry out unnecessary surgeries and then bill insurance companies for the work has been sentenced in Los Angeles to...

Industry, Residents Assessing West’s Winter Storm Damage

Jan 13 2008 // While it’s too soon to tally insured loss estimates from early winter storms that struck the West in January, residents who fled their homes due to flooding are facing damages, all while the National Weather Service...

Lloyd’s GCube Promotes Growth in Renewable Energy Sector

Jan 11 2008 // “GCube, the insurance entity spun out of Lloyd’s managing general agency WindPro, has opened its doors to business on both sides of the Atlantic,” notes a bulletin on the Lloyd’s web site...

Southern California Wildfire Losses Could Reach More than $2 Billion

Jan 11 2008 // The California Department of Insurance announced that since the wildfires broke out in Southern California in October 2007, 37,117 claims have been filed, and 1,531 of those claims are known to be total losses, with an...

California State Fund Offers Credit Extension to Storm Victims

Jan 10 2008 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund announced it will extend credit to policyholders who have suffered a financial loss or business disruption caused by recent wind and rainstorms that struck the counties...

West Storm Losses Could Reach $600 Million

Jan 10 2008 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm Air Worldwide estimates insured losses from the recent west coast winter storm that occrred January 4-8 could reach as high as $600 million, with the vast majority of those losses in...

California Governor To Propose Homeowners, Business Property Insurance Policy Tax

Jan 10 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to propose a 1.25 percent tax on homeowners and business property insurance policies when he unveils his state budget today. “The expected proposal will unfairly...

Sequoia Insurance Offers California Agribusiness Program

Jan 9 2008 // Monterey, Calif.-based Sequoia Insurance Co., has introduced Agricultural Edge, a program designed in partnership with California agents to serve California agribusiness. Target markets include many of the Golden...