Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Two Southeast States Could Reconsider Anthem/WellPoint Merger
Nov 11 2004 // Georgia and West Virginia are two southeast states that could reconsider their earlier approval of the Anthem Inc./WellPoint merger, after California’s $265 million concessions package in California. Seven other...
AIA: CAAA Lawsuit will Undermine Workers’ Compensation Reforms
Nov 11 2004 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) issued the statement below in response to the lawsuit filed by the California Applicant Attorneys Association (CAAA) challenging the regulations regarding Medical Provider Networks...
Calif. Senator to Hold Hearing for Wildfire Victims to Voice Issues with Industry
Nov 10 2004 // Community Assisting Recovery, CARe, a nationally recognized non-profit disaster recovery assistance organization, announces that survivors of the 2003 California wildfires and their more fortunate neighbors will be able to...
Anthem and WellPoint Announce Merger Approval by CDI
Nov 9 2004 // Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. announced that John Garamendi, Commissioner of the California Department of Insurance (CDI), has granted his approval for their pending merger. In July of this year, the...
Looking at the Med-Mal Crisis from Both Sides
Nov 8 2004 // Insurance Journal 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 features Paula...
RemedyTemp to Appeal Workers' Comp Case Appeals Court Ruling
Nov 8 2004 // The California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), will not be held responsible for covering workers’ comp claims filed by 500 of the staffing agency’s employees who were insured by insolvent carrier...
Legislative watchdogs put a fresh spin on traditional lobbying techniques
Nov 8 2004 // Lobbying has been around for as long as any single profession has been around, but it has changed. It isn’t what it used to be,” said John Norwood, managing partner of Norwood & Mattoch, one of...
Three Arrests in California Fraud Case
Nov 8 2004 // An investigation has resulted in three arrests on felony insurance fraud charges. The case, stemming from an investigation by the Santa Clara County Urban Auto Task Force–investigators from the California Department...
Underinsured Homeowner Problem Revisited on Anniversary of Calif. Wildfires
Nov 8 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...
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...
