Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2003-2004 California Year-End Legislative Repo
Jan 3 2005 // A summary of the most important legislation affecting the industry in the New Year The historic recall of Gray Davis and election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California set the tone for the 2004 legislative...
Californians Deal with Winter Storms, Potential Floods
Dec 30 2004 // Californians this week are once again dealing with the effects of a fierce rainy season. No California county is immune from the risk of flooding. In the past 10 years alone, there have been three large-scale, widespread,...
Governor Proposes New Worker’s Compensation Rules
Dec 30 2004 // The Schwarzenegger administration has released a sweeping set of regulations aimed at revising how doctors evaluate permanent injuries to workers and how much compensation they are paid. The new regulations, unveiled last...
Battle Looms Over Ga. Medical Liability Reform Legislation, Its Effect on Premiums
Dec 29 2004 // Storm clouds are looming over medical liability reform legislation about to be introduced in the 2005 Georgia General Assembly which would make it harder for insurance companies to raise their rates and thus, supposedly...
CDI Inquires About Zenith’s Broker/Agent Arrangements
Dec 28 2004 // Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Zenith National Insurance Corp. announced that its California domiciled insurance subsidiaries have received letters of inquiry from the California Department of Insurance (CDI) requesting...
SCIF Captures $14.6 Million Judgment Against Pair of Calif. Businesses
Dec 27 2004 // In one of the largest awards of its type in the history of California’s workers’ compensation system, State Fund has won a $14.6 million judgment against two Rancho Cucamonga businesses that reportedly used an...
Toland Joins Westrope’s Calif. Office as Casualty Broker
Dec 22 2004 // Twelve-year-old Kansas City, Mo.-based wholesaler Westrope announced the addition of Scott Toland as a casualty broker in its Irvine, Calif., office. Toland comes to Westrope from the AIG Cos., where he provided...
Calif. Mother Arrested in “Stuffed Passenger” Auto Insurance Accident Case
Dec 22 2004 // Ebony Kirk, 25, of Sacramento, was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Jail for falsely reporting herself as a passenger in an auto accident occurring on Aug. 19, 2003. She was charged with four felony counts of...
Proposed Calif. Producer Compensation Regulation Confusing, Unnecessary Says ACIC
Dec 22 2004 // The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) strongly criticized a proposed California Department of Insurance regulation on insurance agent and broker practices because the measure is overly broad, poorly...
New Calif. Legislation Becomes Law on Jan. 1
Dec 21 2004 // A number of new insurance-related bills will go into law in California on Jan. 1, 2005. They include: Auto Insurance AB 2677 (Ridley-Thomas – Auto Insurance: Cost Estimates) requires insurers to provide personal auto...
Calif. Man Convicted of Arson Charges
Dec 20 2004 // A graduate student at the California Institute of Technology has been convicted of a series of arson charges related to firebomb attacks on sport utility vehicles in the San Gabriel Valley last year. William Jensen...
Dallas Industry Day Focuses on Profitability, Tort Reform, Ratings
Dec 20 2004 // Texans like to say everything is bigger in Texas, but economist Robert P. Hartwig came to Dallas to explain that big numbers alone aren’t worthy of celebration. The Texas insurance industry, for example, enjoys big...
People & Places
Dec 20 2004 // Ken Nigohosian The American Agents Alliance Board of Governors announced the selection of Ken Nigohosian as the association’s new executive director. He has worked for Safeco Insurance for 25 years. He began his...
TEVIS INSURANCE FILES WITH CDI FOR LICENSE TO SELL WORKERS’ COMP IN CALIFORNIA:
Dec 20 2004 // San Francisco-based Tevis Insurance Company announced that it has filed an application with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to become a new workers’ compensation insurance carrier. The application will...
Oxendine, Anthem Agree on Benefits
Dec 20 2004 // John Oxendine, Georgia Insurance Commissioner, and Anthem Inc. have reached an agreement under which Anthem will pledge $126 million to improve rural health care for the poor in Georgia–in return, Oxendine has agreed...
Wow! We Made It!
Dec 20 2004 // This is the last issue for the year 2004. And while it may seem like any other Insurance Journal West, it’s actually pretty special and notable. The end of 2004 marks a remarkable achievement here at Insurance...
Looking Back on ’04: The Most Talked-About Stories in the Western Region
Dec 20 2004 // The year 2004 saw a little bit of everything across the Western Region. Workers’ comp, homeowners, med-mal, and even insurance fraud topped the list of the most talked about stories. We compiled these recaps based on...
Authorities Nab Correctional Officer in Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud Scam
Dec 16 2004 // A former Folsom Prison Correctional Officer was arrested Dec. 15 after an investigation into alleged workers’ compensation fraud in which investigators video-taped her using a jet ski, a water slide, and performing...
ELAN Files Calif. Public Records Act Request with Commissioner to Release $4B in Policyholder Losses
Dec 16 2004 // The Executive Life Action Network (ELAN), an activist group of former Executive Life Insurance Co. policyholders, has filed a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request with Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi urging...
Garamendi Announces Results of Low Cost Auto Outreach Campaign
Dec 16 2004 // Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced the initial results of the aggressive outreach campaign launched in August 2004 to enroll eligible Los Angeles drivers in the California Low Cost Auto Insurance Program...
