Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
CIGA Executive Director Announces Retirement
Mar 21 2005 // The California Insurance Guarantee Association, an organization that pays the claims of insolvent insurance carriers, recently announced that Executive Director Lawrence Mulryan will retire after 13 years of...
Calif. Trio Arrested for Auto Insurance Fraud
Mar 18 2005 // On March 16, investigators from the Fresno County Urban Organized Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force and officers from the Stockton Police Department arrested Amberjeet Kaur Gill (aka Amber Gill, Amber Jeet Kaur Gill,...
Insurance Group Staying out of California Workers’ Comp Confirmation Fight
Mar 17 2005 // A major insurance industry group is staying out of the Senate confirmation fight over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workers’ compensation director, another possible indication the appointment could be in...
Calif. Man Arrested While Standing in Front of Judge on Separate Charges
Mar 14 2005 // Sometimes people can’t seem to get enough of a good, or in this case, bad thing. While appearing last Wednesday in a Sacramento County courtroom for a preliminary hearing, James Chester Taylor, Jr., 72, of Quartz...
Superior Access Offers “Direct Access”
Mar 11 2005 // Richard Swoy, chairman of Irvine, Calif.-based Superior Access Insurance Services, announced the newest offering from SAIS, “Direct Access.” SAIS is now considering new premium subscriber agencies for...
Calif. Authorities Warn of Getting Soaked by Fraudulent Contractors Following Storms
Mar 10 2005 // As the damage from the recent California storms is tallied, a new peril threatens homeowners — con artists posing as contractors and public adjusters. These criminals come out of the woodwork after disasters, preying...
CWCI Presents Workers’ Comp Seminar
Mar 10 2005 // The California Workers’ Compensation Institute has announced that it will conduct a one-day case law seminar in May in San Francisco and in Long Beach. The program will examine trends in workers’ compensation...
CWCI Study Examines Utilization Review in California Workers’ Comp
Mar 8 2005 // The California Workers’ Compensation Institute has issued a new report that looks at utilization review and the use of medical treatment guidelines in California workers’ compensation and compares the low back...
Calif. Superior Court Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Involving ACE Companies
Mar 8 2005 // The ACE Group of Companies announced Tuesday that California Superior Court Judge James Warren has entered judgment in favor of several ACE companies in a lawsuit brought against Insurance Company of North America (INA),...
Calif. Authorities Give Comp Fraud a Clean Sweep
Mar 7 2005 // In a joint effort, investigators from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), overseen by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office...
Heads Up! Employees at Large
Mar 7 2005 // Wal-Mart, Morgan Stanley, Boeing, Texaco, State Farm and Farmers have all been the targets of recent employment practices lawsuits. Wal-Mart was hit with sexual harassment charges. Farmers was sued for wrongful...
WELLPOINT AND CALIF. COMMISSIONER LAUNCH COMMUNITY GRANT PROGRAM:
Mar 7 2005 // WellPoint Inc. joined California Department of Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in announcing the launch of a $35 million Community Clinics Grant Program. The program and its funding are a direct result of the merger...
CAAA SAYS WORKERS’ COMP PROFITS UP 25%-36%:
Mar 7 2005 // Fourth quarter and 2004 annual earnings statements from leading California workers’ comp insurance carriers are coming in, and profits are reportedly up by 25 to 36 percent over 2003–and 2003 was already the...
CA DWC UPDATES PROGRAM FOR INJURED WORKERS:
Mar 7 2005 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has reportedly reinvigorated a state program that provides information and assistance to injured workers through monthly workshops at local DWC offices. “In the...
Calif. Man Collects Benefits on False Claim
Mar 7 2005 // On Dec. 8, 2004, Sammy Barela Rios, of Madera, was arrested by investigators from the CDI Fraud Division and booked into the Madera county jail on four felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud and one felony...
Contingency Commissions and the Future of California Agents & Brokers
Mar 7 2005 // How the Spitzer-led investigation against broker fees inspired solutions to California’s “problems” Over the past several months, there have been numerous explanations, press releases and position papers...
ChoicePoint: ‘Insurance Industry Databases Were Not Compromised’
Mar 7 2005 // ChoicePoint’s Clue Auto, Clue Property and Current Carrier insurance industry databases were not in any way involved or compromised by the fraud ring that obtained data from other ChoicePoint databases of public...
New Calif. Comp Carrier Receives $50M in Capitalization
Mar 3 2005 // Applied Underwriters announced that it has provided $50MM in capital to its wholly-owned subsidiary, the California Insurance Company (CIC). Applied Underwriters acquired CIC in 2003 from General Electric’s Coregis...
State Fund Files 2004 Financial Statement with CDI
Mar 2 2005 // In an annual statement filed Wednesday with the California Department of Insurance, State Compensation Insurance Fund documented that its policyholder surplus — assets minus claims reserves and other liabilities...
Calif. Commissioner Vows to Continue Fight Against ‘Use it and Lose it’ Abuses in Homeowner Industry
Mar 2 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued the following statement in response to the recent Court of Appeal’s ruling on the state’s authority to regulate homeowners’ insurance: “The...
