Latest California Headlines

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

National Advantage Insurance Services Offering Preferred BOP

Oct 24 2005 // Clifford Mapes, president and CEO of National Advantage Insurance Services Inc., has announced that the company has added a new admitted Preferred BOP for small business accounts. This is an admitted program from A.M. Best...

Calif. Court Rules Illegal Immigrants Can Get Workers’ Comp

Oct 20 2005 // Illegal immigrants injured on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits despite their legal status, a California state appeals court ruled. The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in a case involving...

California Insurance Commissioner Announces Anti-Fraud Guidelines

Oct 20 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced a new Special Investigative Unit (SIU) regulations for insurance carriers licensed to conduct business in California. The new regulations are a result of a...

RemedyTemp Gains the Upper Hand in CIGA Workers’ Comp Case

Oct 20 2005 // RemedyTemp Inc., which operates as Remedy Intelligent Staffing and RemX Specialty Staffing, on Thursday said the California Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal by the California Insurance Guarantee Association...

Foremost Insurance Introduces Dwelling Fire in California

Oct 19 2005 // The Foremost Insurance Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., has introduced a dwelling fire program in California. Starting October 1, agents can start writing business designed to provide customers with insurance that other...

Acordia Purchases Assets of Cassidy Employee Benefit Services; Staff to Continue in California

Oct 18 2005 // Acordia Inc., a bank-affiliated insurance brokerage and a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, has acquired the assets of Cassidy Employee Benefit Services in Pasadena, California. Cassidy Employee Benefit Services...

WCIRB Survey Indicates California Workers’ Comp Reform is Working

Oct 17 2005 // State workers’ compensation claims and disability costs have dropped significantly since California’s workers’ compensation system was overhauled in 2003 and 2004, according to the Workers’...

Ex-California Commissioner Low Praises His Successor, Garamendi

Oct 17 2005 // Former California Insurance Commis-sioner Harry Low is singing the praises of John Garamendi, who is both Low’s successor and predecessor as overseer of the state’s insurance industry. In a way, Low’s...

Case Law Watch

Oct 17 2005 // USAA Casualty Insurance Co. v. Anglum, et al. (Colorado, Sept. 12, 2005) Ruling: The court held that an USAA auto policy unambiguously permitted the insurer to charge an adjusted premium for a newly acquired vehicle from...

California Insurance Commissioner Campaigns Against Fraud

Oct 17 2005 // California State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has launched a statewide campaign to warn consumers about scams involving fake insurance policies. The Department of Insurance has cracked several fraud cases in the...

Continuing Battle against Wildfires Fuels Need for Insurance

Oct 17 2005 // As firefighters battled into last week trying to contain one of a number of brush fires in the Los Angeles area, residents throughout California are keeping a close eye on weather conditions and their insurance policies,...

Industry Associations Object to CDI Legal Opinion on Fiduciary Duties

Oct 17 2005 // The California Department of Insurance (DOI) recently released a legal opinion on insurance fiduciary duties that industry associations say is over-reaching and will adversely affect their members. In its opinion, the...

JUDGE THROWS OUT $700 MILLION JURY AWARD IN EXECUTIVE LIFE SUIT

Oct 17 2005 // A federal judge has thrown out a $700 million (euro586 million) award for punitive damages won by the state of California in a lawsuit stemming from the takeover of failed insurer Executive Life by French investors. U.S....

SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS AUTO INSURANCE, SAFETY LEGISLATION

Oct 17 2005 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed several bills dealing with automobile insurance and safety. SB 20 legislation will extend a low-cost auto insurance program through 2011. SB 150 requires insurance companies...

POLICYHOLDERS OF INSOLVENT INSURERS RECEIVE $386 MILLION

Oct 17 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced that $386 million has been distributed this year to policyholders and claimants of insolvent (bankrupt) insurers liquidated through the state’s...

Continuing Battle against Wildfires Fuels Need for Insurance

Oct 17 2005 // As firefighters battled into last week trying to contain one of a number of brush fires in the Los Angeles area, residents throughout California are keeping a close eye on weather conditions and their insurance policies,...

California Insurance Commissioner Campaigns Against Fraud

Oct 17 2005 // California State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has launched a statewide campaign to warn consumers about scams involving fake insurance policies. The Department of Insurance has cracked several fraud cases in the...

California Workers’ Comp Overhaul Sets Stage for Nationwide Reforms

Oct 17 2005 // The broad reforms in California’s workers’ compensation system serve as an example for the nation, as employers and insurers in the state are getting sizeable financial relief from runaway workers’...

Managing Co-Owner Dismissed

Oct 17 2005 // Man Fined For Workers’ Comp Fraud A San Diego County Superior Court judge has sentenced Kevin Vint, 50, of Del Mar, Calif., to three years formal probation for conspiracy to commit workers’ compensation...

Ex-California Commissioner Low Praises His Successor, Garamendi

Oct 17 2005 // Former California Insurance Commis-sioner Harry Low is singing the praises of John Garamendi, who is both Low’s successor and predecessor as overseer of the state’s insurance industry. In a way, Low’s...