Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Sexual Harassment Training Now Mandatory in California
Feb 7 2005 // For the first time, California now mandates that employers with 50 or more employees provide sexual harassment training to their supervisors. On Sept. 29, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a statute that...
Calif. Appeals Court Dismisses Claims of Former State Farm Agents
Feb 7 2005 // A California appellate court in San Francisco dismissed the claims of two former State Farm insurance agents in a lawsuit filed against the giant insurer over wrongful termination. The court also ordered a new trial in the...
State Compensation Insurance Fund President Oki Announces Retirement
Feb 5 2005 // State Compensation Insurance Fund announced that after three years of leading California’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, Fund President Dianne Oki will retire in the coming month after a 37-year career...
Insurers Agree to $93M Settlement over Hazardous Waste Site in California
Feb 4 2005 // California has won a $93 million settlement with 16 insurance companies over cleanup costs at a notorious hazardous waste site. Lloyd’s of London, one of the state’s major insurers, will pay $49 million of the...
Five Northern Californians Arrested on Charges of Insurance Fraud
Feb 4 2005 // On Jan. 13, 2005, Victor Morales Delgado and his brother-in-law, Jose Guerrero, both of Sacramento, self-surrendered to investigators with the California Department of Insurance Organized Auto Insurance Task Force (Task...
RGI Insurance Unveils New Web Site
Feb 2 2005 // Laguna Hills, Calif.-based RGI Insurance Services, one of California¹s largest medical malpractice insurance agencies, announced the grand opening of its new Web site: http://www.RGIinsurance.com. RGI Executive Vice...
Alliance Responds to Lawsuit Aimed at Agent/Broker Contingency Commissions
Feb 2 2005 // The American Agents Alliance, representing over 2,000 independent agents and brokers in California and Arizona, criticized attorney Norman Goldman for filing an amendment to a compliant he filed in 2003 against Aon...
Calif. Man Arrested on Workers’ Comp Fraud, Embezzlement Charges
Feb 1 2005 // On Jan. 31, Gregg Leo Curwick, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., surrendered himself in Bakersfield to investigators from the California Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division and the Kern County District...
Fremont General Reports Developments in Pending Litigation with the California Commissioner
Feb 1 2005 // On Jan. 25, 2005, the Fremont General Corporation’s motions to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the State of California Insurance Commissioner on behalf of Fremont Indemnity Company against Fremont General were argued...
Calif. Commissioner Helps Issue $3 Million to Charity; Funds Initiate $20 Million Claim Settlement
Jan 27 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Wednesday helped deliver the first checks from a $20 million settlement of a class action lawsuit to resolve insurance claims stemming from the Armenian Genocide nearly...
Fireman’s Fund Notes Personal Insurance for More than 28,000 Professional Firefighters in California
Jan 27 2005 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company has announced a personal insurance benefit program, including automobile and homeowner’s coverage, for the more than 28,000 members of the California Professional Firefighters...
CDI Fines Agents over Workers’ Comp Policies
Jan 25 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has imposed discipline upon two agents and the companies they work for over their marketing of an illegal tribal-based insurance product. The actions taken by the...
Wood Joins Acordia’s West Region
Jan 25 2005 // Chicago-based Acordia Inc., a Wells Fargo Company, announced that H. David Wood has accepted the position of senior vice president, regional managing director of Acordia’s West region. Wood will assume the leadership...
Can it Happen Here’ Tsunamis a Possible Threat to West Coast
Jan 24 2005 // Southeast Asia’s devastating tsunami has left many wondering if the threat could hit close to home. The reality is that tsunamis, in fact, have already made their mark on the West Coast, and the threat still remains...
People & Places
Jan 24 2005 // Tony Casabat Redwood City, Calif.-based ABD Insurance and Financial Services hired Tony Casabat as senior vice president/sales executive for the company’s Employee Benefits practice. Casabat, a longtime lead sales...
Ring Member Awaits Extradition From Calif. to Face Slip-and-fall Fraud Charges
Jan 24 2005 // A 30-year-old man wanted in Florida since 1995 on numerous felony charges for his alleged role in his family’s nationwide “slip-and-fall” insurance fraud scheme is in custody in California awaiting...
Calif. Governor Appoints Berte to CalPERS Board
Jan 24 2005 // Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that Marjorie Berte, 52, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Public Employees’ Retirement System Board, according to the Los Angeles Times. Berte is currently vice...
Back to the Basics
Jan 24 2005 // E&S Industry Returns to Familiar Ground Neither wind, nor rain nor the dark cloud of standard carriers returning to the marketplace will keep excess and surplus insurance writers from maintaining profitability. From...
Insurance Marketing and Communications
Jan 24 2005 // How to Produce Client Seminars As we develop our marketing and communications plans for 2005, one of the most effective ways a broker can provide a customized service to its clients is by producing educational seminars on...
Seabright Files IPO; Plans to Write Comp in California
Jan 20 2005 // Seattle-based Seabright Insurance Holdings Inc. raised $78.8 million in their initial public offering Jan. 20, with shares priced at the high end of the expected range, Reuters reported. Seabright recently entered the...
