Latest California Headlines

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

Backers of Controversial California Homeowners Insurance Bill Like Its Momentum, Timing

Jun 17 2020 // Backers of a controversial bill in California, which they say is designed to increase insurance coverage in high-risk wildfire areas by amending Proposition 103, believe it has the right timing and plenty of momentum to go...

California Orders Workers’ Comp Carriers to Return Premiums Due to Stay-At-Home Orders

Jun 17 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today issued an order adopting emergency workers’ compensation regulations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new regulations go into effect on July 1. The...

PG&E Will Plead Guilty to Deaths From California Wildfire

Jun 17 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric is expected to plead guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter during a court hearing in which the nation’s largest utility will be confronted with its history of neglect and...

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers Adds Ausec in California

Jun 17 2020 // The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has added Jamie Ausec to the Irvine, Calif. Ausec specializes in employee benefits. She started her career in insurance 16 years ago and has worked at ADP, Alliant, and most recently...

California Workers’ Comp Direct Written Premium Continued to Fall Last Year, Report Shows

Jun 16 2020 // California workers’ compensation total direct written premium continued to decline in 2019, falling 7.0% to a five-year low of $11.42 billion, as nine out of the state’s 10 largest insurer groups wrote less...

California Has Now Recorded More Than 5,000 COVID-19 Deaths

Jun 16 2020 // California has recorded more than 5,000 COVID-19 deaths as cases continue to climb in several parts of the state. The state Department of Public Health reported 148,855 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 5,063 deaths...

Genstar Capital Exits Remaining Stake in Palomar in California

Jun 15 2020 // Genstar Capital announced on Monday it has exited its remaining stake in specialty property insurer Palomar Holdings Inc. in La Jolla, Calif. Genstar in 2014 partnered with current CEO Mac Armstrong to form Palomar, a new...

Judge Limits California Governor’s Emergency Rule-Making

Jun 15 2020 // A California judge has sided with Republican legislators who said Gov. Gavin Newsom overstepped his powers with dozens of emergency orders during the coronavirus crisis that changed everything from how public meetings are...

After Being Sued by Sonos, Google Sues Sonos Alleging Patent Infringement

Jun 12 2020 // Google filed a lawsuit accusing home speaker maker Sonos Inc. of infringing five of its patents, escalating tensions between the partners that have already led to a U.S. International Trade Commission probe. In a complaint...

Topa Insurance in California Names Chang Vice President

Jun 12 2020 // Topa Insurance Co. in Calabasas, Calif., has named Olive Chang vice president of reinsurance. Chang has oversight of reinsurance placements for all Topa Insurance Group entities. She is also responsible for strategic...

California Regulator Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees

Jun 11 2020 // Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on...

United Valley Insurance Services Adds New Member in California

Jun 10 2020 // United Valley Insurance Services Inc. has added Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Huggins Dreckman Insurance Agency Inc. as a new member. Stan Dreckman and Jeannie Jensen-Dreckman are principal owners of Huggins Dreckman. The...

California School Districts Lining Up to Fight JUUL in Lawsuits

Jun 10 2020 // A national coalition of law firms has filed suit on behalf of the Pomona Unified School District against JUUL Labs Inc. for its role in creating an e-cigarette epidemic and resurgence in youth nicotine addiction that...

A.M. Best Affirms North American Casualty Group Companies’ Ratings

Jun 10 2020 // Ratings issuer A.M. Best said it has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” of five companies...

Updated Residential Earthquake Damage Guidelines for California Released

Jun 9 2020 // The California Earthquake Authority today released updated guidelines for identifying, evaluating and repairing residential earthquake damage were The guidelines were updated at CEA’s annual claim manager...

California Consumer and Insurer Groups Square Off Over Homeowner Insurance Bill

Jun 9 2020 // A consumer group is warning that homeowners could pay billions more for their home insurance under what it calls an “insurance industry legislative attack on California’s effective rate...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Australia’s CA Insurance Brokers

Jun 9 2020 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based broker, announced the acquisition of CA Insurance Brokers in Australia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2002 by Andrew Howard, CA...

Insurance Office of America Adds Waters as Producer in California

Jun 8 2020 // Insurance Office of America has named Zachary Waters to its architects and engineering team. Waters joins the Pleasanton, Calif. branch office as a commercial lines producer and risk management specialist. His focus at IOA...

Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake Confirmed in California Desert Region

Jun 5 2020 // A magnitude 5.5 earthquake has jolted the region of California desert where a powerful quake last summer was followed by thousands of aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The USGS says Wednesday’s quake...

Homes Burned, Evacuations Ordered in California Wildfire

Jun 5 2020 // A grass fire burning northeast of San Francisco destroyed or damaged about a dozen homes Wednesday and prompted evacuations of several streets, fire officials said. The fire erupted at around 3:30 p.m. near a wildlife...