Latest California Headlines

Judge Throws Out $700 Million Jury Award in Executive Life Suit

Oct 7 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 Highway Safety Bills, Receives Praise

Oct 6 2005 // The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) has commended Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for signing into law two bills designed to improve highway safety. The bills are AB 1325, which addresses motor vehicle...

WIAA Response to CDI Advisory Letter on Disclosure

Oct 5 2005 // Our Lawyers Are Reviewing Your Legal Opinion. We Disagree With It. We’re Glad There’s New Found Industry-wide Agreement on Disclosure Rancho Cordova…The issue of full dollar disclosure has been the most...

Calif. Commissioner Reports Distribution of $386M to Policyholders Involving Bankrupt Insurers

Oct 5 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced Wednesday that $386 million has been distributed this year to policyholders and claimants of insolvent (bankrupt) insurers liquidated through the state’s...

Hurricane Katrina: The Legal Saga Begins

Oct 3 2005 // The New Orleans tragedy may spawn a wave of litigation related to flood protection and levee failures. Public statements, which may serve as a foundation for massive public safety legal claims, began Sept. 1. Based on the...

People & Places

Oct 3 2005 // Leslie Mallonee Seattle-based Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company has announced that Leslie Mallonee has been named senior vice president and chief information officer. Mallonee’s history in information technology...

California May Lower Quake Insurance Rates in Wake of Katrina

Oct 3 2005 // As federal, state and local officials grapple with the financial and physical ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina, momentum is building to make earthquake insurance offered by the semipublic California Earthquake Authority...

California Heating Up, Could Face More Blackouts

Oct 3 2005 // More frequent and intense heat waves that are expected in California during the next 100 years could overburden the state’s electric utility grid and cause rolling blackouts, according to a study by the U.S....

Hurricane Katrina: The Legal Saga Begins

Oct 3 2005 // The New Orleans tragedy may spawn a wave of litigation related to flood protection and levee failures. Public statements, which may serve as a foundation for massive public safety legal claims, began Sept. 1. Based on the...

Calif. May Lower Quake Insurance Rates in Wake of Katrina

Oct 3 2005 // As federal, state and local officials grapple with the financial and physical ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina, momentum is building to make earthquake insurance offered by the semipublic California Earthquake Authority...

FEMA Tightens Policy on Flood Safety

Oct 3 2005 // A new federal policy outlined a week before Hurricane Katrina struck could force residents in hundreds of communities nationwide to buy flood insurance and halt construction in some low-lying areas, including parts of...

Wash. Contractor Cited for Fraudand Safety Violations

Oct 3 2005 // To combat fraud and protect workers from serious injury and death, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries has cited a Tacoma roofing contractor for workers’ compensation fraud and multiple safety...

California Heating Up, Could Face More Blackouts

Oct 3 2005 // More frequent and intense heat waves that are expected in California during the next 100 years could overburden the state’s electric utility grid and cause rolling blackouts, according to a study by the U.S....

Oct 3 2005 // Seattle-based Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company has announced that Leslie Mallonee has been named senior vice president and chief information officer. Mallonee’s history in information technology includes his...

The artisan contractors market on the rise

Oct 3 2005 // As the United States’ total population creeps up on the 300 million mark, no one can call the residential construction industry a dying breed. The continuous need for housing is apparent in the nation’s fastest...

Calif. Court Strikes Down Persistency Discount Law

Sep 30 2005 // A state appeals court has struck down a law that consumer advocates said would result in higher auto insurance rates for many low-income motorists and discourage uninsured drivers from getting coverage. A three-judge panel...

Calif. Commissioner Warns Residents of Dangers from ‘Fake Insurance’

Sep 29 2005 // Each year far too many insurance consumers are duped into buying bogus insurance policies, putting them and their families or business at great risk of financial catastrophe. Seeking to prevent these harmful crimes,...

Stewart Title of California Venturing Into P/C Market with SIFS Launch

Sep 29 2005 // Stewart Title of California (STC) is looking to become a player in the property and casualty insurance industry with the launch of Stewart of California Insurance and Financial Services (SIFS). Recently approved by...

Insurance Commissioner Candidate to Keynote American Agents Alliance Convention

Sep 26 2005 // Steve Poizner, a candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, will deliver the keynote address at the 2005 Convention of the American Agents Alliance. Poizner, a Silicon Valley Republican candidate, replaces current...

Calif. May Lower Quake Insurance Rates in Wake of Katrina

Sep 25 2005 // As federal, state and local officials grapple with the financial and physical ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina, momentum is building to make earthquake insurance offered by the semipublic California Earthquake Authority...