Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2001 IBA West Officers Installed by Commissioner Low at Annual Luncheon
Feb 12 2001 // On Jan. 24, IBA West Outgoing President John Johnson of San Leandro-based McDermott-Costa Inc. welcomed a roomful of approximately 200 attendees to the 2001 Installation of Officers held at the Hotel Nikko in San...
NAFTA Ruling Expected to Allow U.S. Access to Mexican Trucks
Feb 12 2001 // A North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel is expected to uphold an interim ruling from November allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States. Many in the insurance industry say they will cautiously...
Holocaust Effort Gets Judicial Support, No Enforcement Yet
Feb 9 2001 // On Feb. 7, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Sacramento backed a California law forcing insurers to disclose policies sold in Europe before World War II. The law, which was adopted by the Legislature in 1999 but...
CNA Names Stonehouse To Lead California Agency Market Division
Feb 8 2001 // CNA Financial Corp. has hired Stephen G. Stonehouse as president of the California Operations for Agency Markets. Stonehouse will lead the zone operation for California, and the Commercial Insurance branches in the state...
Good, Bad Vibes from Industry Leaders
Feb 5 2001 // If you weren’t able to attend the recent Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum in New York City, we can sum up CEO attitudes about the New Year in this way: The market is hardening, although not fast enough; losses...
United Valley Expands Into Northern California
Feb 2 2001 // Armed with an aggressive growth strategy, United Valley Insurance Services Inc., headquartered in Fresno, is expanding beyond its Central Valley base and into Northern California. Seven of its nine new affiliates are...
Framing Company Heads Accused of Insurance Fraud
Jan 31 2001 // Three construction company owners from Arizona and a California attorney have been accused of insurance fraud and employment tax evasion by California insurance officials. Jay Neal Wright, 48, his son, Jay Neal Wright II,...
NORTHRIDGE ANNIVERSARY
Jan 29 2001 // On Jan. 17, exactly seven years ago to the day, America experienced its most costly insurance disaster as the Northridge earthquake rumbled through California, killing 60 people and destroying or damaging thousands of...
Online CE Courses are Changing the Ways Agents Get Educated
Jan 29 2001 // Sadly, this is the mindset of many agents when it comes to continuing education. Every agent knows the important role that continuing education (CE) plays in keeping up with the industry’s ever-changing business...
Ex-Quackenbush Deputy Makes Plea Agreement in CDI Probe
Jan 29 2001 // George Elliot Grays, a former senior aide to erstwhile California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, pled guilty on Jan. 16 to federal charges of two counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money...
Assessing the Signs and Strategies for Hitting the Niche Target
Jan 29 2001 // To specialize or not to specialize, that is the question. The answer is, given the right set of circumstances—absolutely. Finding the proper alchemy is the challenge, and part of that is realizing that a good idea alone...
Good, Bad Vibes from Industry Leaders
Jan 29 2001 // If you weren’t able to attend the recent Property/Casualty Joint Industry Forum in New York City, we can sum up CEO attitudes about the New Year in this way: The market is hardening, although not fast enough; losses...
The Hartford Pilots New Internet Quote System in California
Jan 24 2001 // The Hartford Financial Services Group began piloting its new interactive quote system for personal auto with four agencies in California last month. The web-based system allows participating insurance agencies to obtain an...
IICF Names Southern California Regional Vice President
Jan 23 2001 // Janet Kidd joined the Insurance Industry Charitable Fund as regional vice president for Southern California. Kidd’s responsibilities include handling all aspects of fundraising and program development in Southern...
Fund Eyed for Privatization; Industry Balks at Comptroller’s Recommendation to Sell TWCIF
Jan 22 2001 // As part of an effort to privatize government units, Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander has recommended that the Texas Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund be sold to the highest bidder. The...
Liability Insurers and Rights of Reimbursement
Jan 22 2001 // Liability insurers face three especially difficult litigation problems. One of them arises when an insurance contract provides that an insurer has a duty to defend, and it is not clear from the plaintiff’s petition...
NAII To File Amicus Brief in Claims Handling Case
Jan 19 2001 // The California Court of Appeal has requested that the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) file an amicus brief in a case that addresses controversial public policy issues regarding claims handling and...
Second Person Prosecuted In Calif. Insurance Scandal
Jan 19 2001 // A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday, accusing a football coach who operated a camp for troubled children of mail fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. It was the second such indictment in the...
ACE Exposure to Calif. Utility Crunch Could Be $140 Million
Jan 18 2001 // In an unusual move Bermuda-based Ace Ltd. issued a statement revealing a potential loss exposure of $140 million as a result of the credit crisis which has hit Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric...
Workplace Injuries in California at Lowest Rate Since 1971
Jan 18 2001 // Job-related nonfatal injury/illness rates in 1999 continued to decrease, reaching a record low of 6.3 workers injured out of every 100, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of...
