Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Repeal of Illegal Immigrant Driver License Bill Passes Calif. Senate Committee
Nov 25 2003 // As expected, a bill to repeal legislation allowing undocumented aliens to obtain California drivers’ licenses, passed from the Senate Transportation Committee by a 10-2 vote, the American Agents Alliance said. SBX3 1...
ACIC Commends Gov. Schwarzenegger for Addressing WC Issues
Nov 19 2003 // Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has displayed strong leadership in addressing workers’ compensation issues by calling the California Legislature into special session to enact further cost-saving reforms to the...
Calif. Commissioner Looking Forward to Working with Gov. for WC Reform
Nov 18 2003 // Calif. Insurance Commissioner penned the following letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the day of his induction into office: Dear Governor-Elect Schwarzenegger: Congratulations on your upcoming inauguration! In...
Safeco Estimates Calif. Wildfire Losses
Nov 18 2003 // Safeco announced that claims stemming from the recent California wildfires are estimated at $16.0 million in pretax catastrophe losses. This figure represents the estimated losses both from claims received through Nov. 14...
French Government Gets Another Month to Reach a Settlement in ELIC Case
Nov 17 2003 // Oct. 27 was supposed to be the “day of decision” for the French Government to sign (or not sign) an agreement, reached between the U.S. Attorney General’s (AG) Office in Los Angeles and representatives of...
Insdustry Responds to Calif. Wildfires
Nov 17 2003 // The most devastating wildfires in California history have been fully contained, but the numbers reveal a destruction of staggering proportions: statewide, 740,000 acres have been scorched; more than 3,600 homes and the...
Allstate Announces Estimate of California Wildfire Losses
Nov 14 2003 // The Allstate Corporation announced that its pre-tax catastrophe losses related to the California wildfires, which began on Oct. 21, 2003, are preliminarily estimated to be between $290 and $330 million, $190 and $215...
SCPIE Holdings Announces Third-Quarter and Nine-Month Results
Nov 13 2003 // SCPIE Holdings Inc., a provider of healthcare liability insurance, reported results for its third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2003. For the 2003 third quarter, SCPIE reported a net loss of $14.8 million, or...
S&P Comments on Calif. Wildfire Aftermath
Nov 12 2003 // The biggest wildfire in U.S. insurance history will neither undermine insurance ratings nor prompt a pricing surge in homeowners’ coverage in the state, according to the most recent research by Standard &...
Moody’s: Wildfires Will Hurt Insurers’ Bottom Line
Nov 12 2003 // Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement that it does not expect its ratings or outlook on the U.S. personal lines insurance sector as a whole to be impacted solely by the recent spate of California...
State Orders Calif. Restaurants to Close Due to Lack of WC Coverage
Nov 10 2003 // State Labor Commissioner Art Lujan ordered the closure of nine International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurants in Sacramento and Fresno because the restaurants did not have a valid workers’ compensation insurance...
Allstate Foundation Establishes $1 Million Wildfire Relief Fund
Nov 10 2003 // The Allstate Foundation joined with The California Community Foundation (CCF) to establish a $1 million fund to aid in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to the Southern California wildfire...
Calif. Commissioner’s Revision to WC Advisory Rate Excessive, Premature, Says ACIC
Nov 10 2003 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s recommendation for a 14.9 percent decrease in pure premium rates for workers’ compensation insurance is both excessive and premature, according to the...
III: Calif. Wildfires Worst Ever, Losses Expected to Exceed $2 Billion
Nov 10 2003 // Surveys of the insurance industry have confirmed a total of 7,260 claims filed from the Southern California firestorms as of 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Reports of up to...
Panel Says Attracting Private Specialty Carriers to Calif. Will Stabilize WC Crisis
Nov 6 2003 // The California workers’ compensation system is broken with employers under immense financial strain due to continually rising premiums and employees feeling their legitimate claims being tarnished by the increasing...
Calif. Commissioner Allows Insurers to Expand Use of Adjusters for Wildfire Claims
Nov 6 2003 // Calif. Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi released the following statement declaring an Emergency Situation in Southern California due to the wildfires: “Due to the unprecedented destruction caused by Southern...
Mercury General Corp. Reports Q3 Financials
Nov 5 2003 // Calif.-based Mercury General Corporation reported that net income was $49.6 million, or $0.91 per share (diluted), in the third quarter 2003 compared with $18.5 million, or $0.34 per share (diluted), in the same period for...
CompManagement Inc. Announces Calif. Acquisition
Nov 5 2003 // CompManagement Inc. (CMI) announced the acquisition of Octagon Risk Services Inc. (Octagon) on Oct. 3, 2003. CMI now enters the western United States by acquiring the strongest regional claims management firm in...
Calif. Workplace Fatalities Decline by 8% in 2002
Nov 3 2003 // The number of workplace fatalities in California declined by 8 percent in 2002 according to the Department of Industrial Relation’s (DIR) Division of Labor Statistics and Research. The number of workers who died on...
AFG’s 3Q Earnings Down 14% From Year Earlier
Nov 3 2003 // Cincinnati-based insurer American Financial Group (AFG) reported net earnings for the 2003 third quarter of $41.6 million, or 59 cents per share. These results include an after-tax charge of $23.1 million, or 33 cents per...
