Latest California Headlines

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

Assisting Insurers with Compliance Under California’s New Wildfire Insurance Regulations

Mar 15 2023 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Over the past five years, wildfires have been particularly devastating across California, leading insurers, homeowners, and regulators to reconsider how they manage and...

California Court Rules for Uber, Lyft in Ridesharing Case

Mar 15 2023 // App-based ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors, a state appeals court ruled Monday, allowing the tech giants to bypass other state...

Maine Lobster Industry Files Defamation Suit Over California Aquarium’s Whale Warning

Mar 15 2023 // A coalition representing the Maine lobster industry is suing an aquarium on the other side of the country for recommending that seafood customers avoid buying a variety of lobster mostly harvested in their state. Industry...

First Cap Property Insurance Solutions Announces New Admitted Homeowners Program for California

Mar 15 2023 // First Cap Property Insurance Solutions is a San Diego, CA based MGU with a focus on niche property products. Our management and underwriting team have a long history of developing niche property programs for CA as far back...

FEMA Urges California and Nevada Residents to Heed Flood Warnings

Mar 13 2023 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is cautioning residents in parts of central California and western Nevada to pay attention to local officials as additional heavy rains and flooding are predicted. The National...

Storm Breached California River’s Levee, Hundreds Evacuated

Mar 13 2023 // Authorities ordered more than 1,500 people to evacuate early Saturday from a Northern California agricultural community famous for its strawberry crop after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding from a...

Georgia Business Owner Sentenced in $54M California Workers’ Comp Fraud

Mar 13 2023 // Wesley Owens, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Beau Wilson, 38, also of Atlanta, pleaded no contest to multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and conspiracy in Los Angeles Superior Court over charges filed after a...

People Moves: Venbrook in California Names Sherman EVP of Business Development

Mar 13 2023 // Venbrook Group, LLC, based in Woodland Hills, California, promoted Brenda Sherman to executive vice president of business development and strategic alliances. A Venbrook executive since 2015, Sherman has more than 30 years...

Mercury Insurance in California Names Pang Chief Technology Officer

Mar 10 2023 // Mercury General Corp. named Wilson Pang chief technology officer to lead its technological transformation efforts. As part of Mercury’s executive leadership team, Pang will develop and drive digital transformation...

People Moves: PCF Names New President; California Department of Insurance Appoints Members

Mar 9 2023 // PCF Insurance Services in Lehi, Utah, named Jenni Lee Crocker president. Crocker was PCF’s senior vice president, growth and operations for the past year. She will remain on the board of directors at PCF after...

California Oil Company Paying $65M for Oil Spills

Mar 8 2023 // A defunct company that spilled more than a million gallons of crude oil and wastewater in California must pay more than $65 million in penalties and cleanup costs, federal prosecutors announced. A federal court entered a...

California Therapy Provider Cited $9M for Misclassifying 1,280 Employees

Mar 8 2023 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Feld Care Therapy Inc. in Westlake Village. More than $9 million for misclassifying 1,280 speech, physical and occupational therapists as independent contractors. The...

Man Charged With Blowing up PG&E Transformers in California

Mar 7 2023 // A 36-year-old man has been charged with blowing up two Pacific Gas & Electric transformers, causing blasts that knocked out power to thousands of utility customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Peter Karasev’s...

Consumer Group Pushing ‘Junk/Hidden Fees’ Bill Package in California

Mar 6 2023 // A group of California lawmakers along with the Consumer Federation of California is pushing a six-bill “junk/hidden fees package” that proponents say will protect consumers from deceptive pricing and add-on...

Half of California Freed From Drought Thanks to Rain, Snow

Mar 6 2023 // Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem, U.S. Drought Monitor data showed. The latest survey found that moderate...

Insurers View New Car Sales Rise in California as More Evidence for Rate Filings

Mar 6 2023 // New figures show car sales in California continue to slowly return to pre-pandemic levels, which the state’s auto insurers believe is another indication the state’s insurance regulator needs to approve more...

Shipping Companies Reach $97M Settlement in California Oil Spill

Mar 3 2023 // Shipping companies will pay nearly $97 million to settle a lawsuit with a pipeline operator over a 2021 oil spill off the coast of Southern California, the pipeline company said Wednesday. Amplify Energy, the Houston-based...

Kobe Bryant Family Settles Photo Lawsuit in California for $28.5M

Mar 2 2023 // The family of the late Kobe Bryant has agreed to a $28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters The figure includes a newly agreed upon...

California Workers’ Comp Research Keys on State’s Massive Healthcare Industry

Mar 2 2023 // A report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California that examines the state’s healthcare system shows the industry also accounted for the highest share of indemnity COVID-19 claims...

California’s Final State Emergencies Winding Down 3 Years Into Pandemic

Mar 1 2023 // California’s coronavirus emergency officially ended Tuesday, nearly three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order and just days after the state reached the grim...