Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Utility in California Slow to Pull Plug Before Wildfire Erupted
Oct 29 2020 // Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the Associated Press misspelled the last name of Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included...
Woodruff Sawyer Names McEvoy of Marsh Property Practice Leader in California
Oct 29 2020 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff Sawyer has named Mark McEvoy its property practice leader. McEvoy is based in San Francisco and will lead the practice nationally. McEvoy has more than 13 years of experience in both...
Insurers Again Battled Many California Bills, but a Fight Last Year Was Biggest Recent Victory
Oct 28 2020 // The election is nearly here, and while it’s been quite a year all around, things could have been worse for the insurance industry. When the year started, insurance industry lobbyists were facing a big battle, and not...
California Claims Adjuster and Chiropractor Arrested in $1.6M Operation
Oct 28 2020 // Claims adjuster, Agop Sarafian, 65, of La Crescenta, Calif., and chiropractor, Shahe Topjian, D.C. 65, of Granada Hills, Calif., were arrested on felony insurance fraud charges after allegedly conspiring to defraud...
Correction: Southern California Edison Says Equipment May Have Sparked Wildfire
Oct 28 2020 // Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the...
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Adds Foster in California
Oct 28 2020 // The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has added Christine Foster to the Woodland Hills, Calif., office. Foster has more than 27 years of experience. She was previously with Foster & Associates She has also worked for...
California Closes Record for 2021 Pure Premium Workers’ Comp Filing
Oct 27 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a notice closing the record for the Jan. 1, 2021 workers’ compensation pure premium rate filing. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of...
Winds Fanned California Fires and Kept Thousands of Evacuees Away
Oct 27 2020 // Crews tried to beat back two out-of-control wildfires in Southern California on Tuesday that have kept tens of thousands of people out of their homes. Fierce winds that drove twin fires through brushy hills near cities in...
Judge in California OKs $78M Settlement by Air Medical Company
Oct 27 2020 // A judge has given final approval to a $78 million settlement by a medical helicopter company that was sued by its California flight crew employees over unpaid overtime and missed breaks. The decision last week by Alameda...
Power Outages in California as Winds Boost Fire Danger
Oct 26 2020 // Large swaths of California had no electricity Monday as utilities tried to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires while the fire-weary state was buffeted by powerful winds and dangerously dry weather...
Wrongful Death Suit Filed in California Over Woman Who Died After Ingesting Marijuana
Oct 26 2020 // The law firm CaseyGerry has filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of the parents of Le’Sharia Bre’Aun Steele, a 28-year old flight attendant from Alabama who died in San Diego, Calif. after...
Swiss Re Capital Markets Places $775M Cat Bond for California Earthquake Authority
Oct 23 2020 // Swiss Re Capital Markets has successfully structured and placed the issuance of USD $775 million of insurance-linked securities by Ursa Re II Ltd. to be used for the protection of the California Earthquake Authority. CEA...
Uber, Lyft Must Reclassify Drivers as Employees, Rules California Appeals Court
Oct 23 2020 // A California appeals court on Thursday unanimously ruled against ride-hailing companies Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., saying they must reclassify their drivers in the state as employees. While the ruling does not...
Monitor: PG&E in California Prioritized Targets Over Reducing Wildfire Risk
Oct 22 2020 // PG&E Corp. prioritized meeting inspection targets over meaningful reduction of wildfire risk, according to a monitor overseeing the utility’s program of trimming trees and vegetation that pose a threat of...
Golden Bear in California Upgraded by AM Best
Oct 22 2020 // AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a” from “a-” of Golden Bear Insurance Co. in Stockton, Calif. The...
California Trucking Firm Owners Charged in Alleged $450K Workers’ Comp Fraud
Oct 22 2020 // Trucking company owners Hardip Singh, 44, and Amandeep Kaur, 36, were charged this week with multiple counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misclassifying employees as independent contractors in a scheme to underreport...
California Electrician Sentenced for Defrauding Workers’ Comp Providers, Employers
Oct 22 2020 // Michael Ray Williams, 37, of Daly City, Calif., was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and three years formal probation after pleading no contest to two felony counts of insurance fraud after illegally working for...
California Could See More Fire-Prevention Power Shutoffs
Oct 21 2020 // Electricity may be shut off to 50,000 Northern California utility customers this week to try to prevent power lines from sparking and igniting new wildfires during a predicted new round of gusty, hot and dry...
Applied Underwriters Sues California Over ‘Bad Faith’ Insurer Conservatorship Plan
Oct 21 2020 // Workers’ compensation specialist Applied Underwriters is suing California Insurance Department officials to halt a state plan its says would force its workers’ compensation partner California Insurance Co....
New Mercury Insurance Programs Target California Homeowners’ Wildfire Risk
Oct 21 2020 // Mercury Insurance has launched two new programs designed to help Californians better protect their homes and families if they live in areas prone to wildfires. Homeowners who take one or more steps to either harden their...
