Latest California Headlines

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

Unions Sees Worker Growth Potential in California’s Marijuana Industry

Dec 27 2017 // Unions have caught a whiff of a rare opportunity to organize a whole new set of workers as recreational marijuana becomes legal in California. The United Farm Workers, Teamsters and United Food and Commercial Workers are...

Court in California Rules Novartis Can Be Sued Over Generic Drug Injuries

Dec 22 2017 // California’s top court has opened the door for consumers to sue Novartis AG and other makers of brand-name pharmaceutical products over injuries blamed on generic versions of the drugs manufactured by other...

California Division of Workers’ Comp Suspends 16 Medical Providers

Dec 22 2017 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended 16 more medical providers from participating in the state’s workers’ comp system, bringing the total number of providers suspended this year...

California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Forego Detailed Home Inventories in Wake of Wildfires

Dec 21 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is asking insurers to help California wildfire survivors by providing relief from detailed home inventories and to provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage limits without...

Microsoft Wants to Pit AI Against Climate Change

Dec 21 2017 // Red and green make yellow. And depending on how one feels about climate change, it could be considered a cautionary tale for the U.S. that China plans to create the world’s largest carbon market, possibly making it...

A.M. Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of California Capital and Subsidiaries

Dec 20 2017 // A.M. Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a-” from “a” of California Capital Insurance Co. and its wholly...

Answer Financial in California Names Smith Director of Business Development

Dec 19 2017 // Encino, Calif.-based Answer Financial has named Kevin Smith director of business development. Smith will report to Tom Capp, senior vice president of business development. Smith has more than 25 years of experience within...

Calm Winds Aid Firefighters in Making Progress on California Fire

Dec 19 2017 // Crews are using a break in winds to do a controlled burn to remove dry brush and build containment lines around Southern California’s Thomas Fire. Fire spokesman Capt. Rick Crawford said Tuesday that officials will...

The Charity Issue: Photos of Giving

Dec 18 2017 // The Keane Insurance Group John Keane, president of The Keane Insurance Group, founded the Keane Charitable Group in 2010 after the earthquake in Haiti. Since then, The Keane Group has raised more than $1 million to build...

California’s Thomas Fire Now Third Largest in State History

Dec 18 2017 // California’s Thomas Fire is roughly 45 percent contained and is now considered the third largest wildfire in state history, authorities say. Firefighters battling the fire northwest of Los Angeles are working against...

California Pot Sold Jan. 1 Could be Tainted

Dec 18 2017 // That legal weed you’ll be able to buy in California on New Year’s Day may not be as green as it seems. Any marijuana sold when recreational sales become legal Jan. 1 in the nation’s most populous state...

Homeowners Fear Losing Insurance in Midst of California Fires

Dec 18 2017 // California homeowners and regulators have a new fear about wildfires ravaging the state: that insurers will drop coverage. Massive, out-of-season fires in northern and southern California are causing billions of dollars in...

California Wildfire Claims Top $9.4B, Department of Insurance Says

Dec 18 2017 // California Commissioner Dave Jones announced in early December that the total of insured losses from the wildfires in California in October had topped $9.4 billion in residential and commercial claims. That figure is near...

Wells Fargo Facing Insurance License Discipline in California

Dec 18 2017 // Wells Fargo was served with an accusation in December by the California Department of Insurance seeking to suspend or revoke its licenses for alleged improper insurance sales practices related to the company’s online...

Northern California Agency Owner Answers Christmas Wishes of Single Mothers in Need

Dec 18 2017 // Commercial Coverage Insurance Agency Owner Samantha Tradelius approaches running the nonprofit she started two years ago, The Sparkle Foundation, in the same manner she runs her insurance agency: it’s about taking...

Tougher Utility Rules Being Considered in Wake of California Wildfires

Dec 15 2017 // California utilities may face tougher safety rules for power lines, phone lines and utility poles in parts of the state most prone to wildfires. Under the proposed rules being considered by the California Public Utilities...

Winds Kick up Fire Threat from California Wildfires

Dec 15 2017 // Dry, gusting winds are aggravating fire worries across much of central and western California, including those areas where infernos are still raging and places that were scorched in October, the U.S. Storm Prediction...

Farmers Reports $1.2B in Claims from Northern California Wildfires

Dec 15 2017 // Farmers Insurance reported it has received more than 4,000 claims from the Northern California wildfires to date at an estimated gross cost of $1.2 billion. With reinsurance, the Los Angeles-based carrier estimates its...

Cheech of Cheech & Chong Heralds New Tool for California Pot Businesses

Dec 14 2017 // Comedian and legendary stoner Cheech Marin doesn’t want your pot business to go up in smoke. That’s why he’s in a new public service announcement publicizing a California Secretary of State website for...

A.M. Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Crusader Insurance in California

Dec 14 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of Crusader Insurance Co. Additionally,...