Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Lowers Mid-Range Estimate of COVID Costs by $10B
May 26 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California published estimated costs of allowing state workers to receive benefits for COVID-19 claims without proving virus exposure at work, dropping a prior...
Not All Homes in Wildfire Zones Are Uninsurable. Here’s How Insurers Can Tell.
May 22 2020 // Fire-risk scores now used by insurance underwriters can sometimes can make it challenging for homeowners to find coverage. Zesty.ai, a California insurtech start-up, is among a handful of firms working to fine-tune...
Woodruff Sawyer Adds Glover as Producer in California
May 22 2020 // Woodruff Sawyer has added Paul Glover to the San Francisco, Calif., office as a producer and account executive in the firm’s real estate practice. He has been bringing serving clients in the real estate and...
Altamont Capital Deal to Acquire Topa Insurance Called Off
May 20 2020 // The deal for Altamont Capital Partners to acquire Topa Insurance Group has been called off. Last August, Altamont Capital Partners signed an agreement to acquire Calabasas, Calif.-based Topa Insurance Group from its...
PG&E’s Bankruptcy Plan Wins Support from California Wildfire Victims
May 20 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy has won overwhelming support from the victims of deadly Northern California wildfires ignited by the utility’s fraying electrical grid, despite...
Coalition in California Raises $90M to Grow Internationally
May 20 2020 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Coalition, a cyber insurance and security company, announced it has raised $90 million in equity capital to support its growth and global expansion. Valor Equity Partners led the funding with...
WCF Insurance Promotes Boyd to California Director of Underwriting
May 20 2020 // WCF Insurance has promoted Ann Boyd to California director of underwriting in the Roseville. Boyd will lead the underwriting team’s growth and development in California will report to Gwen Church, vice president of...
Insurance Office of America Adds Goodwell in California
May 19 2020 // Insurance Office of America has added Theo Goodwell as a commercial property/casualty insurance producer in its San Diego, Calif., office. His focus will be on select commercial business accounts. Goodwell was previously a...
Nevada Highway Damaged by Largest Area Earthquake in 65 Years
May 18 2020 // The cracked main highway between Las Vegas and Reno reopened Friday, 10 hours after a predawn magnitude 6.5 earthquake that a researcher called the largest to strike the remote area of western Nevada in 65 years. No...
Study: Sharp Drop in California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews
May 18 2020 // The number of Independent Medical Review determination letters, a process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes, fell sharply in prescription drug disputes by 11.3% from 2018 to 2019, with...
California Issues Cease and Desist over Illegal Extended Warranties
May 18 2020 // The California Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist order on Omega Vehicle Services LLC, doing business as Delta Auto Protect, and its controlling manager, Charles Seruya, in May for allegedly selling illegal...
California Lawsuit Alleges 2 Companies Inflated Gas Prices
May 18 2020 // California sued two multinational gasoline trading companies in early May, alleging they ran a scheme that jacked up prices at the pump from 2015 to late 2016. Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the companies...
California Expands Order for Insurers to Partially Refund Premiums
May 15 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today issued a bulletin extending his previous order requiring insurance companies to return partial insurance premiums to consumers and businesses amid the ongoing COVID-19...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Chief Addresses COVID’s Impact on System
May 15 2020 // Bill Mudge has been put in a unique position during the pandemic. He’s got a sizeable workforce he’s had to reconfigure and manage much differently, and he heads the bureau that regulators, employers and...
California Music Venues Sue Insurer over Business Interruption Related to COVID-19
May 15 2020 // San Francisco Bay Area-based music venue Ivy Room has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California-based music venues against a major insurance provider, saying the venues were wrongfully denied coverage for losses...
California Commissioner Names Members to Insurance Diversity Task Force
May 13 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday announced the newest members of the Insurance Diversity Task Force, which makes recommendations to the commissioner on ways to increase diversity within the...
California Counties Push to Reopen Ahead Of State Guidelines
May 13 2020 // More than two dozen California counties have asked for permission to loosen their stay-at-home orders beyond what the state allows, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, promising a speedy review of their requests as jobs continue...
Workers’ Comp May Need Backstop as Presumptions Push Claim Costs into Billions
May 12 2020 // An executive order by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week is the most aggressive yet among the directives issued by 13 states that require workers’ compensation insurers to pay at least some COVID-19...
California Retailer Sues Travelers for Denied COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims
May 12 2020 // San Francisco-based children’s clothing boutique Mudpie Inc. has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California-based retail stores against an insurance provider, saying the small businesses were wrongfully...
M4.5 Earthquake Confirmed in Southern California Desert
May 12 2020 // A moderate earthquake shook a remote desert area east of San Diego Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The magnitude 4.5 quake struck at 3:07 p.m. and...
