Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fla. Outpaces Nation in Fraud Convictions
Dec 19 2003 // Florida once again leads the nation in the number of insurance fraud convictions and cases presented for prosecution, according to a study released this week (see National news) by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, a...
Calif. Commissioner Issues Statement on Settlement of Executive Life Case
Dec 19 2003 // Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi praised the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its work in securing a $770 million settlement of the criminal case against Credit Lyonnais and others involved in the Executive Life...
Employers Direct Cuts Calif. Rates More than Twice State Average
Dec 19 2003 // Employers Direct Insurance Company has cut its workers’ compensation insurance rates by 8.2 percent in its current filing with the California Department of Insurance. This decrease is reportedly more than twice the...
Buttafuoco Among 11 Charged With Auto Repair Fraud
Dec 19 2003 // Nine owners or employees of area auto repair shops were arrested and charged today with auto insurance fraud following a lengthy investigation by a multi-agency task force headed by the District Attorney’s Bureau of...
Calif. Employers, Industry Experts to Confront Workers’ Comp Crisis
Dec 16 2003 // Workers’ Compensation and disability management experts from across California will meet for a solutions-based conference on workers’ comp issues, Jan. 28-30, in Manhattan Beach, Calif. ABD Insurance and...
Gallagher Acquires Calif. Broker
Dec 15 2003 // Itasca, Ill.-based brokerage giant Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Avery-Hammer Insurance Associates, Inc. of Fresno, California. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1980,...
California State Average Weekly Wage Declines Between 2002 and 2003
Dec 15 2003 // Labor Code Section 4659(c), included in AB 749, the workers’ compensation benefit increase bill passed in 2002, requires that for injuries on or after Jan. 1, 2003, permanent total disability (PTD) payments be...
Industry People Making Moves in 2003
Dec 15 2003 // As you will probably notice from this list, it is not scientific, preferential, etc. We retraced news coverage of this past year and tried to come to an agreement on who made headlines. We likely left off a few...
The Southern California Firestorms of 2003
Dec 15 2003 // The wildfires that raged through San Bernardino and San Diego Counties in October have now been declared the worst fire disaster in the history of the insurance industry. More than 8,000 firefighters battled roaring flames...
Industry Says Good-bye to Familiar Faces
Dec 15 2003 // The insurance industry lost a number of familiar faces in 2003. Some were company presidents and CEOs; some may not have been as well known but were still instrumental in shaping the industry and its future. Insurance...
Industry Says Good-bye to Familiar Faces
Dec 15 2003 // The insurance industry lost a number of familiar faces in 2003. Some were company presidents and CEOs; some may not have been as well known but were still instrumental in shaping the industry and its future. Insurance...
Industry People Making Moves in 2003
Dec 15 2003 // As you will probably notice from this list, it is not scientific, preferential, etc. We retraced news coverage of this past year and tried to come to an agreement on who made headlines. We likely left off a few...
Calif. Chiropractors, Med Clinic Owner Charged with Fraud
Dec 12 2003 // Two Southern California chiropractors and a medical clinic owner were arrested on charges of workers’ compensation fraud following two investigations by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Fraud...
Horace Mann Estimates Impact of Calif. Wildfires; Lowers 2003 Earnings Estimate
Dec 9 2003 // Illinois-based Horace Mann Educators Corporation estimates its policyholder claims from wildfires in Southern California will total approximately $12.5 million pretax. Reflecting anticipated recoveries from the...
IBHS Congress Hears of Impact from Disasters, Mold, Recent Hard Market
Dec 9 2003 // Disasters, both natural and man-made, as well as mold, construction defect and a recent hard market have impacted the U.S. economy and the insurance industry as a whole, according to a leading property/casualty...
Calif. SLA Stamping Office Celebrates 65th Anniversary
Dec 9 2003 // Ted Pierce, executive director of the Surplus Line Association of California (SLA) announced that Dec. 1, 2003 marks the 65th anniversary of the organization’s stamping office. On this date in 1938, California...
Calif. Duo Sentenced to Federal Prison in Fraud Scheme
Dec 8 2003 // Two Southland men were sentenced to federal prison for their convictions on charges related to a scheme in which one embezzled money from his employer and funneled it to members of his softball team. Angel Uribe, 33, of...
McGraw Appointed to Board of Employers Direct
Dec 5 2003 // Michael McGraw, president and CEO of The McGraw Group of Affiliated Companies, has been named a director of Employers Direct Insurance Company. Employers Direct is the first new workers’ compensation insurance...
Armstrong/Robitaille Insurance to Acquire Knight Insurance Agency
Dec 4 2003 // UBOC Insurance Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Union Bank of California, N.A., announced that Armstrong/Robitaille Insurance Services has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Knight Insurance Agency....
Keenan & Assoc. Advisory Board Formed to Help Guide Public Sector Strategy Initiatives
Dec 4 2003 // Torrance, Calif.-based Keenan & Associates, the largest privately held brokerage firm in California, announced the appointment of Alain C. Enthoven, Ph.D., to the company’s newly formed Advisory Board of thought...
