Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EPIC Adds Drew to Northern California Construction Practice
Feb 25 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has added Trish Drew to the firm’s Northern California construction practice. Drew has more than 35 years of experience, and has focused on the risk management and insurance...
Michigan Says Potholes Make State a Great Place to Test Robot Cars
Feb 25 2016 // Michigan and California, vying for control of our driverless future, are each proposing crumbling World War II military sites as ideal locations to test robot cars. Michigan’s secret weapon? Better potholes. The...
UCA in California Names Stipati President
Feb 24 2016 // Cypress, Calif.-based UCA General Insurance Services Inc. has named Frank Stipati president of the firm. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations and the profitability of UCA. Stipati has held various positions...
SDS General Insurance Services in California Names Bareno Vice President
Feb 24 2016 // SDS General Insurance Services Inc. in California has named Pauline Bareno vice president of marketing. Bareno began her career at an insurance carrier, moving to the retail side at John Burnham Insurance, International...
Health Insurance Startup Oscar Narrows Hospital Networks to Compete
Feb 24 2016 // Oscar Health Insurance Corp. CEO Mario Schlosser has found the strategy he says will build his startup into a million-customer player in the health insurance industry: use tight, exclusive networks with hospitals to sell...
Lockton in California Adds Betterly to Employee Benefits Team
Feb 23 2016 // Lockton Pacific has named Suzy R. Betterly as a vice president, and consultant in in San Diego, Calif. She will be responsible for delivering solutions to clients’ benefits programs. Betterly has more than 17 years...
California Insurance Agent Faces Felony Charges for Pocketing Auto Premiums
Feb 23 2016 // Anthony John Diaz, 35, was arraigned today in the Fresno County Superior Court in California to answer charges that he allegedly stole insurance premiums from policyholders. Diaz was arrested earlier this month by...
Oklahoma Ponders ‘California Model’ for Earthquake Insurance
Feb 22 2016 // Oklahoma lawmakers are in the early stages of considering legislation to create a state-level “earthquake reinsurance program” that its author claims will be modeled on the California Earthquake Authority. S.B....
California Hospital Workers’ Comp Report Shows Claim Severity on Rise
Feb 22 2016 // California workers’ compensation claim severity continues to increase, while claims frequency declines, according a newly released report. The latest California hospital report benchmarking workers’ comp costs...
Record Number of Flood Policies Bought by Californians, FEMA Says
Feb 19 2016 // Federal emergency officials reported Tuesday a surge in the number of California residents who have purchased flood insurance, most likely in response to a rainy El Niño winter. Officials with the Federal Emergency...
Report: Most California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Decisions Upheld
Feb 18 2016 // An examination of California workers’ compensation independent medical review decisions shows roughly nine-in-10 of disputed medical service requests reviewed by an IMR physician agree with the utilization review...
California Bay Area Town Bans Short-term Rentals
Feb 18 2016 // A picturesque town in the San Ramon Valley, Calif. has banned residents from operating short-term rentals. The Contra Costa Times reported that Danville’s town council voted 4-to-1 Tuesday to prohibit rentals of...
Southern California Gas Co. Pleads Innocent in Methane Leak
Feb 18 2016 // Southern California Gas Co pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges it waited three days to report a huge methane leak that has forced thousands of Los Angeles residents from their homes, officials for the...
California Commissioner, Allstate Agree to Homeowner Rate Reduction
Feb 17 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has reached an agreement with Allstate Insurance Co. and Allstate Indemnity Insurance to reduce the carrier’s homeowner insurance rates statewide by an average of 12.6...
California: 49M Records Breached in 4 Years
Feb 17 2016 // More than 49 million personal information records of California residents were compromised in 657 data breaches from 2012 to 2015, state Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a report citing tips on how people and...
Pacific Specialty in California Promotes Guthrie, Kaufman
Feb 12 2016 // William Guthrie was named chief risk officer, and Melissa Kaufman was named vice president of product development of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Pacific Specialty Insurance Co. Pacific Specialty is part of the McGraw Group of...
California Workers’ Comp Institute Names Langille General Counsel
Feb 12 2016 // Ellen Sims Langille was named general counsel of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. Langille will manage the CWCI’s internal and external legal affairs. She will also serve as staff liaison to the...
California Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Tribe Through Workers’ Comp Scam
Feb 12 2016 // A Northern California man has pleaded guilty to defrauding an Indian tribe for millions of dollars as part of a workers’ compensation scam. The Sacramento Bee reported that 46-year-old Gregory Chmielewski last month...
Uber to Pay $28M to Settle Claims over Its ‘Safe Rides Fee’
Feb 12 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. said it will pay $28.5 million to settle claims that a $1 “safe rides fee” charged to riders was misleading because its background checks on drivers aren’t as rigorous as the...
California Department of Insurance Investigating Zenefits
Feb 12 2016 // Zenefits has been under investigation by the California Department of Insurance since last year, the state agency disclosed, saying the resignation of co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Parker Conrad earlier this week...
