Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: California Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Highest in 14 Years
Jun 2 2025 // Written premiums in California stabilized in 2022 through 2024 after the large swings during the pandemic, while the combined ratio rose to the highest level in 14 years, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation...
Viewpoint: California’s Property Insurance Crisis and the Path to Reform
May 30 2025 // California’s property insurance market remains in turmoil, exacerbated by escalating wildfire risks, insurer withdrawals, and systemic shortcomings in the state’s safety net—the California FAIR Plan. As...
Searing Heat in California and West Threatens to Break Temperature Records
May 29 2025 // A short-lived heat wave will send temperatures soaring across California and the U.S. West through the weekend, elevating power demand and raising the risk of health impacts. At least 26 daily records may be broken or tied...
Certification Enables California, Oregon Homeowners to Earn Premium Discounts
May 29 2025 // Homeowners in California and Oregon in high-risk wildfire areas can earn discounts on insurance premiums through a new certification program to take mitigation steps to reduce risk. Mercury Insurance partnered with the...
California Joint Law Enforcement Efforts Lead to 4,800 Stolen Vehicles Recovered
May 29 2025 // Joint law enforcement operations in Bakersfield, Oakland, and San Bernardino have made 6,727 arrests, recovered 4,842 stolen vehicles and confiscated 313 dangerous firearms, according to an announcement from Gov. Gavin...
Southern California Edison Paying $82.5M to Settle Claims Over Bobcat Fire Damages
May 27 2025 // Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International, agreed on Friday to pay $82.5 million to settle claims with the U.S. Forest Service for costs and damages resulting from the Bobcat Fire in 2020. The U.S....
Urban Fires Spark California Firefighter’s Idea to Get Quicker Water for Helicopters
May 27 2025 // Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving up a ridge. A...
California, 10 Other States Launch Clean Cars Coalition Following Senate Vote
May 23 2025 // California is joining an 11-state coalition to advance clean vehicles in response to a vote by the U.S. Senate to revoke California’s authority to set its own clean air standards. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition...
California Brokerage Executive to Plead Guilty to Illegal Campaign Contributions
May 23 2025 // An insurance brokerage executive in California will plead guilty to breaking federal campaign laws by making contributions illegally to a joint fundraising committee, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s...
Senate Votes to Block California’s Rule to Ban Sale of New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035
May 22 2025 // The Senate voted on Thursday to block California’s first-in-the nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, moving to kill the country’s most aggressive effort to transition toward electric...
D.A. Says Former California Police Officer on Workers’ Comp Went to Festival, Skied
May 22 2025 // A former Westminster, California, police officer and her stepfather were charged in a large-scale workers’ compensation fraud case after an investigation revealed the officer collected more than $600,000 in...
California Security Company Owner Sentenced in $3.4M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
May 22 2025 // The owner of a San Jose-based security company was sentenced after a California Department of Insurance investigation reportedly uncovered a multiyear scheme to underreport payroll and avoid paying workers’...
State Farm Still Wants a 30% Rate Increase in California
May 21 2025 // State Farm isn’t done seeking a rate increase in California, upping its request a week after getting the OK for a large rate hike to what the company had originally wanted before being rejected and agreeing to an...
Alphabet’s Waymo Gets California Nod for Robotaxi Expansion in Bay Area
May 21 2025 // Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it received approval from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San...
Senate Will Try to Block California Vehicle Standards to Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars
May 20 2025 // The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government’s, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale...
California Commissioner Launches Smoke Claims & Remediation Task Force
May 19 2025 // A new task force has been formed to develop standards in California for insurance coverage and clean-up of smoke-damaged homes. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced the formation of a Smoke Claims &...
Swiss Re Profits Up Despite Losses from California Wildfires
May 16 2025 // Swiss Re AG’s profit rose in the first quarter as losses from the California wildfires were offset by positive performance across the business. Net income increased to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier,...
California DoorDash Driver Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.5M in Deliveries Scam
May 16 2025 // A former food delivery driver pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to steal more than $2.5 million from DoorDash by getting the company to pay for deliveries that never occurred, federal prosecutors said. Sayee...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Highest in 14 Years
May 14 2025 // Written premiums in California stabilized in 2022 through 2024 after the large swings during the pandemic, while the combined ratio rose to the highest level in 14 years, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation...
Judge Recommends Approving 17% State Farm Rate Hike in California
May 13 2025 // It looks like California’s largest homeowners insurer is getting a large rate increase following billions of dollars in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires and pullback on writing new policies in the...
