Latest California Headlines

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

Cambridge General Agency Releases Farm and Ranch Program in California

Jul 10 2008 // Cambridge General has revised its farm and ranch program. This comprehenisve program is designed to provide coverage for the following broad array of farming operations, including: -Aqua-culture operations including...

Company Operating Without License Ordered to Pay $60,000 Fine

Jul 9 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner ordered Dent Defense Group Inc., a Concord-based company, to pay $60,000 in fines for transacting insurance in California without a proper license. Dent Defense Group Inc....

Hot, Drier Weather Developing on California Firelines

Jul 9 2008 // Firefighters are making progress in California’s siege of wildfires, but forecasters warned that weather was turning back in favor of the flames. “A high pressure system is setting up over the entire...

California AG Sues Cement Plant for Hexavalent Chromium Exposure

Jul 8 2008 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and District Attorney Rod Pacheco sued TXI International, a Riverside, Calif.-based cement plant, for exposing people to the potent carcinogen hexavalent chromium without...

Business Moves

Jul 7 2008 // Hudson Insurance, Hooghuis Hudson Insurance Group, the U.S. insurance division of Odyssey Re Holdings Corp.has acquired Hooghuis Group LLC, an underwriting agency specializing in U.S. directors and officers liability...

Business Moves

Jul 7 2008 // Wells Fargo, Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation launched a new Western Division. Wells Fargo Insurance Services will serve as the founder of the new division. The Western...

When is a Collapse a Collapse?

Jul 7 2008 // Navigating the Field of Conflicting Views Consider the following scenario: An earthquake, tornado, flood or similar natural catastrophe causes significant structural damage to an insured’s home. Although the building...

Firefighters in Stalemate Against Calif. Wildfires

Jul 7 2008 // Firefighters have battled hundreds of wildfires burning throughout Northern California to a stalemate in the past month, but forecasters say dangerous fire conditions will not relent anytime soon. While it is still too...

Look Ma, No Hands

Jul 7 2008 // Hands-Free Cell Phone Laws Take Effect in California, Washington California and Washington drivers can no longer talk on their cell phones while driving — at least not if they’re holding the phone with their hands,...

Fraud Roundup

Jul 7 2008 // British Citizen Sentenced for Fraud California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that a state Department of Insurance investigation led to the prosecution and sentencing of a Carmel, Calif., resident for grand...

California Considering Pay-As-You-Drive Auto Insurance

Jul 7 2008 // Price at the Gas Pump Spurring Assembly Bill, DOI Regulation California’s Department of Insurance as well as state legislators are considering bringing pay-as-you-drive automobile insurance to the state, a system in...

M.J. Hall and Co. Announces Market for Main Street Businesses in California

Jul 3 2008 // M.J. Hall announces a new market for main street businesses including packages and workers’ compensation. Coverage is provided by an admitted “A” IX rated carrier in California. M.J. Hall represents more...

California Aims to Implement Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance Regs

Jul 3 2008 // California’s Department of Insurance as well as state legislators are considering bringing “pay-as-you-drive” automobile insurance to the state, a system in which automobile insurance premiums would more...

California Workers’ Comp Insurer Extends Credit to Wildfire Victims

Jul 2 2008 // California State Compensation Insurance Fund announced that it will extend credit to policyholders who have suffered a financial loss or business disruption caused by the hundreds of wildfires burning throughout...

Fireman’s Fund To Reduce California Homeowners’ Premiums 17.9%

Jul 2 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has approved a 17.9 percent reduction in insurance premiums for Fireman’s Fund California homeowners. This reduction will bring a total of $30 million in savings to...

Firefighters in Stalemate Against Calif. Wildfires

Jul 1 2008 // Firefighters have battled more than a thousand wildfires burning throughout Northern California to a stalemate, but forecasters said dangerous fire conditions will not relent anytime soon. No new major fires had broken out...

Willis Research Network Joins in California Earthquake Study

Jun 30 2008 // The Willis Research Network, part of Willis Group Holdings Ltd., the global insurance broker, has joined with the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Geological Survey to develop a scenario that shows how a magnitude...

Fireman’s Fund Lowering Homeowners Rates in California 17.9 Percent

Jun 27 2008 // Fireman’s Fund is lowering its premiums by 17.9 percent for California homeowners, following an order issued by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner . The savings, which are estimated to amount to $35.1...

California Comments on The Doctors Co.’s Acquisition of SCPIE Holdings, Following Investigation

Jun 27 2008 // Following a federal criminal investigation into The Doctors Co., the California Department of Insurance has issued the following statement, explaining its consent to the acquisition of SCPIE Holdings Inc. by The Doctors...

700 Fires Still Burning in California

Jun 27 2008 // Firefighters scrambled Wednesday, June 25, 2008, to tame a lightning-sparked wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest that already burned 16 homes and is moving closer to the scenic community of Big Sur, where it...