Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Repeat Plaintiffs, Non-Profits Target Businesses for ADA Compliance
Nov 7 2016 // Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III lawsuits are up 63 percent over 2015, according to law firm Seyfarth Shaw. ADA Title III prohibits businesses open to the public from discriminating on the basis of...
Berkshire’s Workers’ Compensation Product Carries Risks of Innovation
Nov 4 2016 // David Miller is a stickler for safety at the Goodwill stores he runs in central California. So when Applied Underwriters offered his nonprofit a deal on insurance for workplace accidents if he could minimize injuries, he...
Campbell Younger Joins Hub California as Senior Vice President
Nov 4 2016 // Hub International Ltd. has acquired an insurance book of business from Jamie Campbell Younger, who will join the Hub California team as a senior vice president. Based in Newport Beach, California, Younger specializes in...
Farmers to Pay $225K to Settle EEOC Race Discrimination Case in California
Nov 3 2016 // Farmers Insurance Exchange will pay $225,000 to settle a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Northern California, the federal agency announced. The suit...
AG Defends California Insurance Commissioner’s Regulatory Move
Nov 2 2016 // The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week, during which the Attorney General’s office in suit filed by the insurance industry defended a regulatory move by Insurance Dave Jones. The regulation was...
Hub Acquires Assets of California-Based Riviera Insurance Services
Nov 2 2016 // Hub International Ltd. has acquired the assets of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Riviera Insurance Services LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chris Hill, president or Riviera, and Steve Woodward, the firm’s...
McDonald’s to Pay $3.75 Million to California Workers for Back Pay, Damages
Nov 1 2016 // McDonald’s Corp has agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it was liable for labor law violations by a California franchisee, marking what lawyers said was the first time the company has settled...
Study Highlights Workers’ Comp Claim Differences in California’s Central Valley
Oct 31 2016 // Workers in California’s Central Valley have a distinctly different workers’ compensation claims experience than those in other regions in terms of notification and treatment lag times, mix of injuries, types of...
Family Sues California Ambulance Firm over Mangled Leg Instagram Post
Oct 31 2016 // A San Francisco Bay Area couple has filed a lawsuit against a California ambulance company and a driver for posting a picture of their adult son’s badly mangled leg onto Instagram. The East Bay Times reported that...
Western Growers Hires Luis to Help Expand in California’s Central Valley
Oct 28 2016 // Western Growers Insurance Services Inc. has named Matt Luis as a sales executive to help expand property/casualty insurance services in California’s Central Valley region. Luis’ experience will be leveraged to...
California Commissioner Wants Workers’ Comp Insurers to Reduce Rates
Oct 27 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones issued a formal finding today that costs to insurers in the workers’ compensation system are declining and he’s asking workers’ comp insurers to pass those...
Jury in California Awards $18M Cosmetic Talc Cancer Verdict
Oct 27 2016 // A Los Angeles, Calif. jury has returned a $18.07 million verdict against talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels for its role in causing California political figure Philip Depoian’s mesothelioma. The jury verdict...
California Worker Injuries, Illnesses Remain Stable
Oct 27 2016 // There aren’t more workers getting hurt, but there aren’t fewer either, the latest available data shows. The Department of Industrial Relations has posted California’s 2015 occupational injury and illness...
Coastal Wetlands Found to Reduce Hurricane Property Damage by 10%-30%
Oct 27 2016 // Coastal wetlands provide important natural protection during hurricanes. How much? Natural habitats reduced property damage by about $625 million in the Northeast during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a new study supported by...
Leavitt Group Buys Majority in Murray and Murray in California
Oct 26 2016 // The Leavitt Group has purchased a majority stake in Murray and Murray Insurance Agency in Central California. Dan Lillard, a key team member of Murray and Murray, will become a co-owner and managing principal of the...
U.S. Judge Approves $14.7 Billion Settlement for VW Diesel Car Owners
Oct 26 2016 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved one of the biggest corporate settlements on record, Volkswagen AG’s $14.7 billion deal arising from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, and the German automaker said it would begin...
1.8 Million Western U.S. Homes at Extreme or High Wildfire Risk, Report Shows
Oct 26 2016 // Things haven’t gone as bad as they could have so far in 2016 coming off last year’s record-setting wildfire season in the Western U.S., according to a report out today detailing wildfire risks to properties in...
Study: Los Angeles Has Highest Workers’ Comp Claim Costs in California
Oct 25 2016 // The Los Angeles area continues to be a drag on California’s overall workers’ compensation costs, according to a study out today from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. The WCIRB’s...
Heffernan in California Names Kamm to Board
Oct 25 2016 // Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Heffernan Insurance Brokers has named Barbara Kamm to its board of directors. Kamm is the former president and CEO of Technology Credit Union. Kamm has also served on the boards of Technology...
Golden Bear in California Upgraded to A.M. Best A- VII Rating
Oct 25 2016 // Stockton, Calif.-based Golden Bear Insurance Co. announced that its A.M. Best issuer credit rating has been upgraded from “A- VI” to “A- VII” (Excellent). “Our rating reaffirms the deep level...
