Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Calif. Commissioner Proposes New Broker Regulations, AG Steps In
Nov 8 2004 // In response to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s charges against super brokerage Marsh McLennan, California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi proposed new regulations for agents and brokers Oct. 20 which...
Former Bay Area Insurance Agent to Serve Jail Time
Nov 5 2004 // On Oct. 27, Herbert Amos Jones, of Bethel Island, Calif., pled guilty in Contra Costa Superior Court to one felony count of grand theft. Jones, a former California-licensed insurance agent and regional vice president of...
A.M. Best Upgrades Rating for Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California
Nov 4 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) of Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC). The rating outlook is stable. According to Best, the rating...
Husband, Wife Sentenced for Ins. Fraud, Other Felonies
Nov 4 2004 // On Oct. 12, 2004, Gregory Keating, 44, of Riverside, Calif., and his wife, Elaina Keating, 36, also of Riverside, were sentenced for their Aug. 12 guilty pleas to various charges. Gregory Keating, who pled guilty to felony...
California’s DWC Regulations Get Backing From Office of Administrative Law
Nov 2 2004 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has received approval from the Office of Administrative Law on the first set of regulations implementing SB 899, workers’ compensation reforms passed by...
Mercury Insurance Loses Appeal in Broker Fees Case
Nov 2 2004 // Mercury Insurance Company producers acting as brokers are considered agents and not brokers, and thus are not entitled to collect any broker fees, according to the California Court of Appeal’s ruling in Krumme v....
Mercury General Reports Q3 Numbers
Nov 1 2004 // California-based Mercury General Corp. has reported net income of $65.1 million, or $1.19 per share (diluted), in the third quarter 2004 compared with $49.6 million, or $0.91 per share (diluted), in the same period for...
Calif. AG Launches Probe Into Ins. Cos., Broker Practices
Oct 29 2004 // Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced he has launched a formal investigation into possible antitrust violations and fraud by insurance companies and brokers, and said the probe’s initial focus will be on...
Team Drywall Taken Into Custody on $290K Fraud Case
Oct 28 2004 // Four individuals from a Highland, California business called Team Drywall were taken into custody last week in a $290,466 workers’ compensation premium fraud case that was investigated by the California Department of...
ACIC: Calif. Ins. Department Overstates Complaints
Oct 27 2004 // Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) President Sam Sorich issued the following statement this week regarding the California Department of Insurance report on the Southern California wildfires of...
Calif. Commissioner Stresses Importance of Home Inventory to Lessen Financial Strain in Wake of Disaster
Oct 26 2004 // Standing in a Pasadena resident’s home on the one-year anniversary of the 2003 Southern California Firestorms, Commissioner John Garamendi on Tuesday warned all California homeowners to conduct a home inventory as...
Small Businesses Struggle to Stay Afloat in Hawaii’s Tumultuous Workers’ Comp Market
Oct 25 2004 // The issues surrounding Hawaii’s workers’ compensation system have been a topic of debate for agents, brokers, politicians and small businesses over the past several months as reform attempts to fix the troubled...
38 People Arrested in Calif. Insurance Scam
Oct 25 2004 // On Sept. 15, authorities completed arresting 38 people for alleged auto insurance fraud at more than 30 auto body shops in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The suspects were arrested over five days and booked into...
Take Two: Looking at the Med-Mal Crisis from Both Sides
Oct 25 2004 // National editor Andrea Ortega-Wells recently moderated a “Take Two” debate discussing the hot topic of medical malpractice, and what, if any, reforms are needed. The debate featured Paula Sweeney, partner with...
People and Places
Oct 25 2004 // Bill Litjen San Diego-based insurance brokerage G.S. Levine Insurance Services Inc. has announced the promotion of Bill Litjen to president. He joined the firm in 1997 and most recently held the position of chief operating...
Calif. Commissioner Grills Insurers on Underinsured Homeowner Problem
Oct 22 2004 // Replacement cost, policy limits, and non-renewal of policies were the source of a heated debate in a day-long hearing investigating underinsured homeowners affected by last year’s wildfires. California Insurance...
RemedyTemp to Fight Calif. Workers’ Comp Case Decision Following Appeal Court Ruling
Oct 21 2004 // RemedyTemp Inc., which operates as Remedy Intelligent Staffing and RemX Specialty Staffing, said it will ask the California Supreme Court to review the ruling by a California Court of Appeal panel that the insurers that...
Dreyer, Utley Join Calif.-based ABD Insurance
Oct 20 2004 // Torrance, Calif.-based ABD Insurance and Financial Services, a provider of global risk management and employee benefits solutions, announced that Thomas Dreyer has joined ABD’s Sacramento office as a vice president....
Suchil Joins AIA
Oct 18 2004 // The American Insurance Association announced that Steven Suchil has been appointed assistant vice president in the association’s western region, based in Sacramento. Suchil will manage AIA’s advocacy efforts on...
Nev. Asks Calif. Companies ‘Will Your Business Be Terminated” in Light of High Economic Costs
Oct 15 2004 // In response reportedly to increasing inquiries from California companies struggling with the high cost of doing business in California, Nevada economic development officials have launched a marketing campaign in the Golden...
