Latest California Headlines

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

California Senate Passes Insurance Fraud Bill

Jun 1 2009 // The California Senate has passed SB 156, a bill that would authorize the Department of Insurance or a district attorney to convene meetings with an insurance company to discuss a specific insurance fraud and would provide...

People

Jun 1 2009 // Salt Lake City-based The Leavitt Group named John Moreno president of Leavitt Benefits Services. Moreno will forward the benefits operations of the Leavitt Group and affiliated agencies. Moreno has more than 30 years of...

California Workers’ Comp Insurer Files for 15% Premium Increase

May 29 2009 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund has filed a mid-year rate plan that reflects a 15 percent increase in collectible premium. The revised rates will apply to new and renewal workers’ compensation...

California Commissioner Warns Insurance Agents, Brokers About Scam

May 29 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Poizner warned California licensed insurance agents and brokers to beware of a scam. According to the Department of Insurance, individuals have been reportedly calling licensed insurance...

California Receives Highest Marks For Traffic Safety Laws

May 28 2009 // California was the only state in the nation to receive consistently top marks across the board on a recent ranking of traffic safety laws conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The study examined...

California Proposes Extending Tax Grace Period to Fire Victims

May 27 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has joined Assemblymember Joel Anderson, R – El Cajon, to support AB 157, and to offer disaster preparation tips for all San Diego residents. AB 157 would allow Cedar...

California Orange Empire of Insurance Association Names New Officers

May 22 2009 // The Orange Empire Chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society recently elected its 2009-2010 officers. The Chapter serves about 300 members who live and/or work in the Orange, Riverside and San...

BB&T-Tanner Insurance Services Names Ruggles Area President

May 21 2009 // BB&T Insurance Services of California Inc. named Mark Ruggles area president and branch manager for BB&T-Tanner Insurance Services. Ruggles has a proven track record in agency and sales management, and brings...

Insurance Industry Plays Significant Role in California’s Economy

May 20 2009 // The insurance industry plays a significant role in California’s economy, employing hundreds of thousands of workers, investing billions of dollars in state and local governments and paying the fourth largest amount...

California Insurance Department Aims to Aid Seniors

May 19 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced the launch of the California Department of Insurance Senior Information Center, an online tool for California seniors who have questions about insurance...

Winds Fan Santa Barbara Wildfire During Wildfire Awareness Week

May 18 2009 // A wildfire that began on May 5 in Santa Barbara County, Calif. — during Wildfire Awareness Week May 3-9 — continued to burn as of press time, having burned 8,733 acres and destroyed 77 residences as of May 10,...

2009 Fire Season Outlook Identifies Few Areas of Concern

May 18 2009 // Forecasts Normal to Below Normal Potential Across Most of the West Northern California, where nearly a million acres burned last summer, is poised to possibly be another hotspot for wildfire activity in 2009, according to...

Declarations

May 18 2009 // ‘We are lucky.’ —Warren Buffett, as he addressed thousands of shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., on May 2. He said insurance, along with utilities,...

What Additional Living Expense/Loss of Use Coverage Means to California Fire Victims

May 18 2009 // The skies are filled with smoke, and hundreds of homeowners were evacuated from their homes in Santa Barbara earlier in May. During November 2008’s Tea Fire, which occurred in roughly the same areas as this...

Business Moves

May 18 2009 // Wells Fargo Insurance Services, North Coast Surety Wells Fargo Insurance Services Inc., part of Wells Fargo & Co., acquired the assets of North Coast Surety Insurance Services and North Coast Surety Technologies....

California Insurance Department, Delegata Win Technology Award

May 14 2009 // The California Department of Insurance and Delegata, a technology consulting firm, have been named recipients of the 2009 Best Solutions Award at the Government Technology Conference. CDI partnered with Delegata to design,...

State Farm to Cut California Auto Insurance Rates

May 14 2009 // State Farm’s 3.3 million California auto insurance policyholders will soon see a decrease in their premiums, as the California Department of Insurance approved an 8 percent, $219 million rate cut. The 8 percent rate...

Murray Joins California Workers’ Comp Insurance Rating Bureau

May 13 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Poizner announced that he has appointed Michael Joseph Murray of Danville, Calif., to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Governing Committee. Since 2001, Murray has...

California Low-Cost Auto Program Expanded to El Centro

May 12 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Poizner has expanded the state’s Low Cost Automobile Insurance program to El Centro, Calif., in his aim to give residents an affordable automobile insurance option. “One out of...

BB&T Insurance Services of California Names Nielsen VP

May 11 2009 // BB& T Insurance Services of California Inc. announced the appointment of John M. Nielsen as vice president for its San Francisco office. Nielsen, a seasoned insurance professional with more than 15 years of sales and...