Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
State Farm Seeking Large Rate Increases in Wildfire-Prone California
Jul 3 2024 // State Farm has applied for large rate increases in California, a year after the carrier got rate approvals of 7% and 20%—adding fuel to a burning homeowners crisis in a state that’s seen an increasing number of...
Containment on Large California Fire Increased, but Temps Are Expected to Soar
Jul 2 2024 // Firefighters increased containment on the biggest wildfire currently burning in California, but triple-digit temperatures are expected to bake the state and increase wildfire risk. The Basin Fire in Fresno County has...
PG&E Cut Power to 2,000 as Extreme Heat Bakes California
Jul 2 2024 // PG&E Corp. cut power to about 2,000 homes and businesses in Northern California as triple-digit temperatures, strong winds and low humidity heightened the risk of wildfires. The utility said it preemptively shut power...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Cornerstone in California
Jul 2 2024 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired Rancho Cucamonga, California-based Cornerstone Commercial & Personal Insurance Services Inc. Phil Hakopian, Allison Hakopian and their team will remain in their current location...
Report Keys on Impacts of Economic Changes on California Workers’ Comp
Jul 2 2024 // Projected changes to California workers’ comp claims frequency and severity due to industry mix of employment are negligible through 2026, while employment in most industries fully recovered from the initial pandemic...
California Wildfire Outlook: ‘A Challenging Season for Firefighters’
Jul 1 2024 // While the official start to California’s wildfire season is still a ways off, the best forecast of what’s ahead may be to look back on the year so far, and so far it’s been far busier for firefighters...
Are Employers Prepared for California’s Workplace Violence Prevention Law?
Jul 1 2024 // California’s Workplace Violence Prevention Senate Bill 553, which is now in effect (July 1), requires businesses with exposure in the state to implement robust workplace violence prevention plans. SB 553, which...
Report: Combined California Workers’ Comp Losses and Expenses Down in 2023
Jul 1 2024 // Total insurer combined losses and expenses incurred in 2023 were down, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released its report on workers’ compensation losses and...
D.A. in California Sues Farmers, Other Home Insurers Alleging Scheme to Underinsure
Jul 1 2024 // Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s Consumer Justice Bureau has sued multiple home insurance carriers in California, including Farmers Insurance Exchange, alleging they’re operating a scheme that...
California Workers’ Comp Med-Legal Costs up Sharply Under New Fee Schedule
Jun 28 2024 // Payments for medical-legal evaluations and reports used to resolve medical disputes in California worker injury claims rose more than expected since a new Med-Legal Fee Schedule (MLFS) took effect in 2021, according to a...
People Moves: California Earthquake Authority Governing Board Appoints New CEO
Jun 28 2024 // Tom Welsh The Governing Board of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) named Tom Welsh CEO. Welsh was the chief legal and compliance officer. He has served as the interim CEO since January. He joined the CEA in 2019 as...
California FAIR Plan Clearinghouse Will Include Commercial Policies Starting July 1
Jun 27 2024 // The California FAIR Plan Association will expand its clearinghouse to include commercial policies, such as those covering farms and condos, beginning July 1. The move follows the passage of Senate Bill 505 in 2023....
Containment Grows on Wildfire Near Site of Most Destructive Blaze in California History
Jun 26 2024 // Residents of a California area near the town of Paradise, the site of the state’s most destructive wildfire in history, were ordered to evacuate and roads were closed this week as a wildfire spread. The Apache Fire...
Report: Nearly All California Worker’s Comp IMR Filings Were Eligible for Review
Jun 26 2024 // Nearly all independent medical review filings were deemed eligible for review last year, slightly less than the annual percentage for those filed in 2022, according to California Division of Workers’...
Four Minor Early Morning Earthquakes Hit Southern California
Jun 24 2024 // Four small earthquakes occurred in California in the early Monday morning hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck near Cobb at a depth of 1.1 miles, a M2.9 quake hit two miles...
Home Insurance at $10,000 a Year Shows California Buyers’ Pain
Jun 24 2024 // California’s lofty home prices and scarce inventory already amounted to one of the most nightmarish housing markets in the US. Now, challenges securing and affording home insurance in the wildfire-prone state are...
Emerald Bay Partners with Lightspeed for California Homeowners Insurance Facility
Jun 21 2024 // Emerald Bay Risk Solutions is partnering with Lightspeed Specialty Insurance Solutions to launch an insurance facility in California that delivers coverage for homeowners and landlords. The facility will primarily target...
Northern California Wildfire at 15K-Plus Acres, Containment Grows on Fire in South
Jun 19 2024 // A wildfire is raging through a large swath of western Sacramento Valley after igniting on Monday and spreading to 15,656 acres. Evacuations were ordered in rural areas around the Sites Fire in Colusa County, which is...
California to Change Labor Law That Cost Businesses $10 Billion
Jun 19 2024 // California’s largest business and labor groups agreed to change a landmark law that has helped workers sue companies such as Walmart Inc., Uber Technologies Inc. and Google for workplace violations. The deal caps...
California Labor Commissioner Cites Amazon $6M for Violating Warehouse Quotas Law
Jun 19 2024 // Amazon failed to meet requirements of California’s Warehouse Quotas law at warehouses in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, according to the Labor Commissioner’s Office. The ofice cited Amazon.com Services...
