Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Parties Can Contract for Expanded Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards
Sep 3 2008 // The California Supreme Court held that under the California Arbitration Act (CAA), parties to an arbitration agreement may agree to expanded judicial review of an arbitration award for legal error, according to Cable...
California Senate Committee Passes Pay-As-You-Drive Legislation
Sep 1 2008 // Legislation that would allow insurers to more accurately base auto insurance premiums on how many miles a motorist drives passed the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Proposition 103 requires insurers to set...
California Proposes 16% Workers’ Comp Rate Increase
Sep 1 2008 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California indicated it plans to submit a filing to the California Department of Insurance (CDI) recommending a 16 percent increase in pure premium rates effective...
California Legislature Passes Agent-Broker Bill
Sep 1 2008 // California Assembly Bill 2956, which will clarify the duties of an agent versus those of a broker, has passed both the state Assembly and Senate. The bill will now be held at the Assembly desk until the state budget is...
Fires Bring Calif. to the Brink; Schwarzenegger Proposes Insurance Surcharge
Sep 1 2008 // Faced with hundreds of big, hard-to-control blazes, California is struggling with what could be its most expensive firefighting season ever, burning through $285 million in the past two months alone and up to $13 million a...
AmWINS Insurance Brokerage Names Manassero VP in California
Aug 29 2008 // Brian Manassero has joined AmWINS Insurance Brokerage of California’s Chatsworth office as a vice president. He will specialize in property and product liability placements, and has 12 years of insurance industry...
Appeals Court Throws out $241 Million Award in Executive Life Suit
Aug 27 2008 // An appeals court on Monday, Aug. 25, 2008, tossed out a $241 million award won by the state of California in a lawsuit stemming from the takeover of failed insurer Executive Life by French investors. The 9th U.S. Circuit...
California Commissioner Proposes Pay-As-You-Drive Regulations
Aug 27 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has proposed regulations that would make green auto insurance option available for California consumers. If implemented, pay-as-you-drive auto insurance would allow motorists...
California Drop Lowers U.S. Workers’ Compensation Payments
Aug 26 2008 // U.S. workers’ compensation payments for medical care and cash benefits for workers disabled by workplace injuries or diseases declined in 2006, according to a study released by the National Academy of Social...
California Names Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement Branch
Aug 26 2008 // California Department of Insurance Fraud Division Bureau Chief Rick Plein has been appointed deputy commissioner of the Enforcement Branch. Plein will replace retiring Deputy Commissioner Dale Banda. Plein has more than 19...
California State Fund Makes Two Staff Appointments
Aug 26 2008 // Stephen Ray has been appointed manager of the Utilization Review and Lien Unit for California State Compensation Insurance Fund’s Claims/Rehabilitation Department. Ray was hired as a claims adjuster in the...
More Farm Deaths in California Heat
Aug 22 2008 // California, the nation’s leader in heat-related deaths among farmworkers, sought to turn that trend around three years ago with new laws aimed at ensuring people toiling in sweltering fields had such basics as a...
M.J. Hall Offers Homeowners Market in California
Aug 22 2008 // M.J. Hall has a preferred, admitted homeowners market that is rated “A-” by A.M. Best for California. For the California territory, an ISO HO 2000 program includes HO-3 HO4 HO-5 and HO-6. Coverage is available...
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Awards 2008 Grants
Aug 22 2008 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation based in Walnut Creek, Calif., has awarded its 2008 charitable grants to outstanding nonprofit agencies in California. The following organizations received recognition and...
Insurance Information Network of California Expands Spanish-Language Resources
Aug 21 2008 // As the Latino population continues to grow in California, the Insurance Information Network of California IINC has made it a priority to reach out to Spanish-speaking consumers with helpful tips on shopping for insurance,...
Entrepreneurs at Heart
Aug 21 2008 // People think and act differently when they’re owners. They take more ability to shape the outcome of the company. Privately-owned companies can be more nimble in the marketplace, and this is very important...
Mid-Year 2008: Securities Lawsuit Filings Remain Up
Aug 21 2008 // The continued steady subprime and credit crisis-related lawsuit filing level suggests that the litigation wave will continue during the second half of 2008. Is litigation stemming from the subprime- and credit...
Responding to an Insurance Department Request for Assistance
Aug 21 2008 // providing [the Department of Insurance] a well-crafted response. Receiving a letter from the California Department of Insurance concerning a customer’s complaint is truly an unsettling experience for many agents. The...
By Robert Jablon
Aug 21 2008 // California Orders Allstate to Cut Home Insurance Rates 28.5% Allstate Corp. has been ordered to cut its California homeowner insurance rates by more than 25 percent, a move that will save consumers an estimated $255...
California High Court Clarifies Policies on Workers’ Comp Utilization Reviews
Aug 21 2008 // utilization review process when considering requests for treatment. Employers must conduct utilization reviews when deciding whether to approve or deny an injured employee’s request for workers’ compensation...
