Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Stone Creek Names Gracey Personal Lines Account Manager in California
Jun 28 2016 // Lafayette, Calif.-based Stone Creek Insurance Agency has named Megan Gracey a personal lines manager for its Northern California office. Gracey specializes in customer service, account management, annual client review and...
Firefighters Advance on California Blaze That’s Destroyed 200 Homes
Jun 27 2016 // Fire crews are making inroads against a raging wildfire in central California that has claimed two lives and destroyed 200 homes. Roughly 2,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, according to officials. Federal fire...
Judge in California Approves Lyft’s $27M Driver Settlement Deal
Jun 27 2016 // A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval to ride service Lyft’s $27 million settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by California drivers who claimed they should be deemed employees instead of independent...
CSAA Insurance Group Financial Leader in California Named to COIN Board
Jun 24 2016 // Lincoln Walworth, an investments executive for CSAA Insurance Group, has been appointed to the advisory board of the California Organized Investment Network. Since 1997, COIN has provided insurers with guidance on making...
Lockton Names Michon Executive Vice President in Northern California
Jun 24 2016 // Lockton has named Alex Michon an executive vice president and leader of client service and business development in its new Sacramento, Calif. office. Michon is a 21-year veteran of Aon, where he was vice president and...
More California Drivers Spotted Using Cellphones, Traffic Report Shows
Jun 24 2016 // The number of California drivers using cellphones is rising, as are deaths and injuries blamed on distracted driving. The California Office of Traffic Safety reported this week that nearly 13 percent of drivers were seen...
California’s Last Nuke Plant Would Be Closed by 2025 Under Deal
Jun 24 2016 // California’s last nuclear power plant will close by 2025 under an accord announced this week, ending three decades of safety debates that helped fuel the national anti-nuclear power movement. The state’s...
California Commissioner Asks National Regulators to Block Aetna-Humana Deal
Jun 24 2016 // California’s insurance commissioner on Thursday urged national antitrust regulators to block health insurer Aetna Inc’s proposed $34 billion acquisition of Humana Inc. David Jones, whose state Department of...
Jury Backs Led Zeppelin in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Trial
Jun 23 2016 // Led Zeppelin won’t have to share royalties from one of rock-and-roll’s masterpieces after a jury found guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant didn’t steal the opening chords of “Stairway to...
Judge Allows Bulk of Starbucks Suit in California over Lattes to Proceed
Jun 23 2016 // A federal judge is allowing the bulk of a lawsuit accusing Starbucks of systematically under-filling lattes to move forward. Two California residents are suing the Seattle-based coffee chain, claiming that Starbucks lattes...
Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case Goes to Jury
Jun 22 2016 // The recollections of Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant about events 45 years ago were questioned a final time before jurors were asked to decide who to believe about the genesis of the band’s classic...
Day and Mann Named to Board of Topa in California
Jun 22 2016 // Michael Day and Judy Mann have been named to the board of Directors for Topa Insurance Group in California. Day was the chief financial officer for CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer, until his retirement in 2015. Mann...
Foo Fighters Suing Lloyd’s in California over Concert Canceled after Paris Attacks
Jun 22 2016 // The Foo Fighters are suing insurers for failing to reimburse them for European shows they cancelled following the Paris terrorist attacks in November. The suit, filed Monday in federal court in Los Angeles against...
Following Two Days of Broken Western Heat Records Comes a Respite
Jun 22 2016 // Residents of Southern California and the Southwest were looking for a break after some of the hottest weather in decades had utilities warning of power failures and cities opening pools and cooling centers. At least four...
Aetna-Humana Deal Approved in California, with Conditions
Jun 21 2016 // The California Department of Managed Health Care approved Aetna Inc.’s acquisition of Humana Inc. with conditions including the insurer’s commitment to keeping premium increases at a minimum in the small group...
Applied Underwriters’ Workers’ Comp Business Faulted by California Regulator
Jun 21 2016 // California’s insurance commissioner said a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. insurance business evaded a state law designed to protect small businesses from unexpected workers’ compensation costs. Commissioner Dave Jones...
Insurance Startup in California Eyeing Gig Economy Opens $2M Seed Round
Jun 20 2016 // Bunker Project Inc., a San Francisco, Calif.-based insurance technology startup, announced a $2 million seed funding round. The round was co-led by Comcast Ventures and Route 66 Ventures. Insurance carriers Hiscox and...
California Commissioner Lowers Workers’ Comp Advisory Rate
Jun 20 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones adopted and issued a revised advisory pure premium rate, lowering the benchmark to $2.30 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance. The change is effective...
California Agent Pleads Guilty to Selling Bogus Bonds and Premium Theft
Jun 20 2016 // John Antonio Ruiz, 49, of Riverside, Calif., pleaded guilty earlier this month to 11 felony counts of grand theft after selling $334,972 in bogus surety bonds and stealing the client’s premium. His theft left a major...
Ratings Downgrades for Members of California-based CSAA: A.M. Best
Jun 20 2016 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings to “a+” from “aa-” of the members of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA...
