Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Watchdog Petitions California Commissioner to Bar ‘Outlaw’ Insurer
Sep 6 2006 // Ray Bourhis, the San Francisco lawyer who won multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements against UnumProvident is at it once again. Bourhis, who assisted in Eliot Spitzer’s investigation resulting in Unum being...
Colemont Insurance Brokers Opens Phoenix Office
Sep 6 2006 // Colemont Insurance Brokers has opened a new office in Phoenix. Marc Adler and Tim Downey, two experienced brokers, have joined the company to manage the new office and to serve as senior vice presidents. “Our new...
California Legislature Takes Action on Workers’ Comp, Punitive Damages
Sep 6 2006 // The Legislature ended its 2005-2006 session last week, passing bills affecting workers’ compensation, State Compensation Insurance Fund and punitive damages, among other issues. The governor has until midnight Sept....
State Farm Files for Double-Digit Homeowners Rate Decrease
Sep 6 2006 // California’s largest homeowners insurance company has requested at 10.6 percent reduction in homeowners’ insurance rates for its 1.2 million policyholders in California, according to the Department of...
Milwaukee Archdiocese to Pay $16.65 Million in Sex Abuse Cases
Sep 5 2006 // The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Friday it has agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle sexual abuse claims involving 10 victims in California and two priests, one transferred there by the archdiocese. Half the...
Election-Year Politics Dominate California, Association Says
Sep 5 2006 // Ending a moderately quiet year for insurers and without any major battles, legislators adjourned the 2005-06 session last week, said the American Insurance Association (AIA). Chipping away at the workers’...
Pharmacy issues critical in controlling workers’ comp costs
Sep 4 2006 // Both labor and employers agree that workers’ compensation reforms generally have improved California’s business climate. However, some controversial issues still remain that likely will be addressed in 2007,...
People and Places
Sep 4 2006 // Ogilvy-Hill Insurance elected Mark Shipp president and CEO. Shipp has been with Ogilvy Hill for 11 years. In addition to his new role as president/CEO he will continue to build new relationships in the field. Also, Phillip...
Businesses file first in series of lawsuits against competitors
Sep 4 2006 // Frustrated businesses took their fight against illegal immigration to court in August, filing the first in a series of lawsuits accusing competitors of hiring illegal workers to achieve an unfair advantage. Anti-illegal...
Case Law Watch
Sep 4 2006 // Actions and Proceedings Brannon v. Continental Casualty Co. (Alaska court, June 9, 2006, Unpublished) Ruling: The trial court had dismissed the injured party’s action against the insurer based on statute of...
News Currents
Sep 4 2006 // Chubb, State Farm reducing auto rates in California State Farm Insurance, California’s largest auto insurer, has applied for an 8 percent average reduction for its policyholders while simultaneously implementing new...
Size up subsidence and earth movement exclusions
Sep 4 2006 // More than a decade ago, law firms specializing in construct defect litigation sprang up in California and the West. Construction defect cases in the building industry became all too common, and construction insurance...
Declarations
Sep 4 2006 // Wait and see “The LAAA is anxiously waiting to see whether the new limits on territorial weighting will result in suburban and rural drivers ‘subsidizing’ premiums of urban and inner city drivers, as some...
News Currents
Sep 4 2006 // Associations oppose eliminating contingent commissions The attorneys general of New York, Connecticut and Illinois are continuing their fight against anti-competitive practices in the insurance industry. In doing so, they...
News Currents
Sep 4 2006 // The lawsuits were an attempt to enforce immigration law by creating a deterrent against hiring illegal employees. Businesses file first in series of lawsuits against competitors Frustrated businesses took their fight...
Fraud Roundup
Sep 4 2006 // California State Fund receives $566,000 in restitution California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund received $566,480 in restitution from a Marin County roofing company owner convicted of workers’...
Pharmacy issues critical in controlling workers’ comp costs
Sep 4 2006 // News Currents Both labor and employers agree that workers’ compensation reforms generally have improved California’s business climate. However, some controversial issues still remain that likely will be...
Get your motor runnin’ – not stolen
Sep 4 2006 // California received the dubious honor of most motorcycle thefts in the nation in 2005, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The Golden State recorded 9,110 thefts in 2005, compared with 9,213 in 2004. The...
Business Moves
Sep 4 2006 // Progressive Drive, Homesite Drive Insurance from Progressive, a writer of auto insurance through independent agents and brokers in the United States, signed a joint marketing agreement with Homesite Insurance Group, a...
California senator introduces permanent disability
Sep 4 2006 // California Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has introduced Senate Bill 815, which, if it passes, will increase permanent partial disability benefits for workers’ compensation claimants. The bill would double the...
