Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

New Wave of Virus Claims Hit California Workers’ Comp

Jan 14 2021 // A California Workers’ Compensation Institute analysis of claims reported to the state Division of Workers’ Compensation as of Jan. 11 shows that the number of COVID-19 claims in the California workers’...

Uber Appealing $59M Fine in California Over Sex Assault Data Request

Jan 14 2021 // Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday appealed a $59 million fine by a California regulator in a dispute over whether the company should share detailed information on sexual assault and harassment claims reported on its...

Palomar in California Names Brose Chief Technology Officer

Jan 14 2021 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. has named Mark Brose chief technology officer. Brose will report to his predecessor, Chief Operating Officer Britt Morries, who assumed that role on Sept. 1, 2020. Brose most...

Former NFL Player Suing AIG Over California Burglary

Jan 12 2021 // Former NFL player Antonio Gates and his wife, Sasha Gates, are suing their homeowners insurer, AIG Property Casualty Co., accusing them of delaying coverage and ignoring their claim for insurance policy benefits after a...

California Insurance Agents Arraigned in $687K Grand Theft Scheme

Jan 12 2021 // Licensed insurance agents Robert Farmer, 65, of Camarillo, Calif., and Marion Urcan, 67, of Agoura Hills, Calif., were arraigned this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court on multiple counts of grand theft after...

California Hospital Fined for Deadly Post-Holiday Virus Outbreak

Jan 11 2021 // Kaiser Permanente has been fined $43,000 for failing to report a deadly coronavirus outbreak that may have been caused by an inflatable holiday costume worn by an unknowingly infected staffer on Christmas Day. The number...

InterWest Insurance Acquires Sierra Gold in California

Jan 11 2021 // InterWest Insurance Services has acquired Sierra Gold Insurance Services in Nevada City, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sierra Gold was founded in 1997 and specializes in commercial, personal, surety bonds...

California State Fund Declares 10% Dividend for 2020 Policy Year

Jan 11 2021 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund in early January announced plans to distribute a $39 million dividend to its qualifying policyholders with policies that took effect between Aug. 27 and Dec. 31,...

NIF Group Acquires Pacific Coast E&S in California

Jan 8 2021 // NIF Group, and its parent company, Jencap Group, have agreed to acquire the assets of Pacific Coast E&S Insurance Services in Santa Rosa, Calif. New York-based NIF is a program manager and wholesale broker providing...

California Suspends 1.4M Virus Unemployment Claims

Jan 8 2021 // California has frozen 1.4 million unemployment claims as it battles fraud in its massive coronavirus unemployment relief program, it was reported this week. The state Employment Development Department said it had examined...

Palomar in California Names Johnson Chief Talent & Diversity Officer

Jan 8 2021 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. has named Michelle Johnson chief talent and diversity officer. Johnson was previously senior vice president of people and talent, having served in this role since joining the...

CIC of New Mexico Sues to Enjoin California Department of Insurance from Interference

Jan 7 2021 // California Insurance Company of New Mexico has filed suit in federal court to enjoin the California Insurance Department from continuing to take what the suit asserts are illegal, actions to block the approved...

California Governor Planning $4 B for Economic Recovery

Jan 7 2021 // After spending most of 2020 telling small businesses to close and limit their customers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed $4 billion worth of state spending he says will help them survive in 2021. Newsom...

New California Trade Group Targets Illegal Workers’ Comp in Staffing Industry

Jan 7 2021 // The California Staffing Agency Reform Association has been established by staffing industry leaders to “clean up” the worker’s compensation marketplace for staffing. Cal-SARA, a new nonprofit, trade...

California State Fund Declares 10% Dividend for 2020 Policy Year

Jan 4 2021 // State Compensation Insurance Fund in California on Monday announced plans to distribute a $39 million dividend to its qualifying policyholders with policies that took effect between Aug. 27 and Dec. 31, 2020. The dividend...

California Releases Final ZIPs for Non-Renewal Protection for 2020 Wildfires

Jan 4 2021 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that nearly 500 policyholders in six ZIP codes affected by the Mountain View Fire in Mono County were included in the mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance...

Nuro OK’d in California to Charge for Self-Driving Services

Dec 29 2020 // Robotics company Nuro this week received the first-ever permit to commercially deploy its self-driving vehicles in California, allowing the Silicon Valley firm to charge clients for its driverless delivery service. Relying...

AM Best Upgrades Capital Insurance Group in California

Dec 29 2020 // Monterey, Calif.-based Capital Insurance Group has been upgraded by AM Best. CIG received a rating of A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent). AM Best stated: “Concurrently, AM Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent)...

Earthquake Confirmed in Northern California

Dec 29 2020 // A magnitude 3.9 earthquake rattled parts of Northern California on Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The earthquake was reported at 6:44 a.m. about 14 miles from Chico. The quake was felt 25 miles away...

California Cleaning Company Owner Charged in $700K Workers’ Comp Scheme

Dec 28 2020 // Jorge Gerardo Maldonado, 55, of Sacramento, Calif., was charged with three felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly underreporting payroll and employees to illegally save on workers’ compensation insurance...