Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EPA Orders Cleanup Following Battery Fire at California Energy Storage Facility
Jul 11 2025 // A company has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a cleanup in the wake of a lithium-ion battery fire that occurred at the company’s energy storage facility in...
Former California Insurance Agent Sentenced for $3.7M Fine Art Policy Scam
Jul 10 2025 // A former California insurance agent was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for defrauding a lender out of $3.7 million with bogus applications for fine art insurance policies. Tonja Van Roy, 59, of Las Vegas, but who...
California Fails to Stop 23andMe Founder From Re-Acquiring Company
Jul 9 2025 // Genetic testing company 23andMe can proceed with a $305 million sale to the company’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki after a U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected California’s bid to delay the sale while the state appeals...
Containment Increases on California Wildfire That Forced Evacuations
Jul 8 2025 // Firefighters are making progress on the biggest wildfire in California this year. Containment has increased on the Madre Fire to 35%. The wildfire on the central coast of California has burned 80,603 acres, prompting...
California Wildfire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, Forcing Evacuations
Jul 7 2025 // A wildfire on the central coast of California has grown to 84,080 acres, prompting evacuation orders and closing part of a highway. The Madre Fire, the biggest the state has seen this year, started on Wednesday and is...
Claim Counts Down, Losses up for California Workers’ Comp Private Self-Insureds
Jul 3 2025 // California’s private self-insured employers reported 7.4% fewer workers’ compensation claims in 2024 than in 2023, pushing private self-insured claim frequency to a four-year low, a new report shows. However,...
California Appoints Members to New Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force
Jul 3 2025 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has appointed members to his new Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force, as part of his response to issues over smoke damage caused by wildfires across the state, including...
Explosion at California Fireworks Warehouse Sets Off Fires, Forces Evacuations
Jul 2 2025 // An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in northern California caused several fires, sending black smoke into the air and forcing evacuations, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. People were urged...
Newsom Signs Bill Overhauling California’s Landmark Environmental Law
Jul 1 2025 // Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that will remake California’s landmark environmental protection rules, an overhaul that he says is essential to address the state’s housing shortage and...
WCIRB: 2024 Losses, Expenses in California Workers’ Comp 108% of Earned Premium
Jul 1 2025 // Total losses and expenses in California’s workers’ compensation system incurred in 2024 were $16.7 billion, or 108% percent of earned premium, a report out today shows. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance...
Containment Grows on Southern California Wildfire As Evacuation Orders Lifted
Jun 30 2025 // Firefighters made quick progress battling a wildfire in Southern California, which is now 25% contained after burning 485 acres in San Bernardino County and prompting evacuations. The Lake Fire erupted Saturday afternoon...
California Workers’ Comp Independent Medical Reviews Trending up, Report Shows
Jun 27 2025 // The number of Independent Medical Review decision letters issued in response to California workers’ compensation medical disputes is trending up in the last few years after declining steadily from 2018 through 2022,...
Judge Says California FAIR Plan Violates Law; Industry Fights Consumer Group Suit
Jun 26 2025 // A judge ruled that the California FAIR Plan’s smoke-damage policy violates state law, while in another matter a lawsuit from a consumer group is drawing concern from insurers that it could push the California...
6 Reported Dead After Boat Capsizes on Lake Tahoe in California
Jun 23 2025 // Six people were confirmed dead and two others were missing after a boat capsized on Lake Tahoe in California during a powerful weekend thunderstorm that whipped up high waves, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard and the...
US Supreme Court Lets Fuel Producers Challenge California Emissions Standards
Jun 20 2025 // The U.S. Supreme Court sided on Friday with fuel producers that had opposed California’s standards for vehicle emissions and electric cars under a federal air pollution law, agreeing that their legal challenge to the...
California Utilities Expand Power Shutdowns as Winds Rise
Jun 20 2025 // California utilities cut power to more than 62,000 customers across the state in an attempt to stop wildfires from starting as dry winds sweep the region. PG&E Corp. cut off power to around 60,000 customers scattered...
Pano AI in California Raises $44M Series B to Scale Early Detection
Jun 20 2025 // San Francisco, California-based Pano AI announced the close of its $44 million Series B funding round. The round, which brings its total amount raised to $89 million, was led by new investor Giant Ventures, with additional...
California Utilities Weigh Power Shutdowns as Dry Winds Approach
Jun 19 2025 // California utilities are mulling power shutdowns as breezy dry conditions across the state raise the risk of wildfires. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. may turn off power to at least 11,543 customers in 15 counties,...
People Moves: California Commissioner Names Insurance Diversity Task Force Leaders
Jun 18 2025 // Ricardo Lara California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara named new leadership of the Insurance Diversity Task Force. The 15-member task force elected its newest chair to be Vikita Poindexter, CEO of Poindexter...
California FAIR Plan Extends ZestyAI Partnership
Jun 17 2025 // ZestyAI has announced a four-year extension of its partnership with the California FAIR Plan. The Golden State’s insurer of last resort has tapped ZestyAI’s Z-FIRE wildfire risk model for risk assessment since...
