Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Commissioner Orders Cancellation Moratorium for Wildfires
Aug 2 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this week ordered insurers to preserve residential insurance coverage for the county of Mariposa following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency declaration. Lara’s order...
2 Bodies Found Inside Vehicle in Path of Big California Wildfire
Aug 2 2022 // Authorities said two bodies were found inside a burned vehicle in the path of a raging Northern California wildfire that is one of several major blazes burning across the U.S. West amid hot, dry, gusty conditions. The...
Reports: GEICO Closing All Offices in California
Aug 1 2022 // GEICO is closing all of its offices in California, according to reports. The company shut down all of its 38 offices in the state and hundreds of GEICO workers are being laid off, the news website SFGate is...
California Seeing Largest Wildfire of 2022 at 80 Square Miles
Aug 1 2022 // A wildfire in Northern California was burning out of control on Monday amid exacerbating conditions that pose the dangers of thunderstorms, and hot, windy conditions. The McKinney Fire grew rapidly to more than 80 square...
California Insurance Commissioner: Mercury Steered ‘Good Drivers’ Toward Higher-Priced Policies
Aug 1 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced a legal action on Monday against Mercury Insurance for reportedly violating consumer protection laws, including selling Mercury’s highest-priced policy to...
California Surplus Lines Association Lowering Stamping Fee
Aug 1 2022 // The Surplus Line Association of California board voted to drop the association’s stamping fee to 0.18%. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, the stamping fee will adjust downward from its current 0.25% level that took effect on...
California Insurance Commissioner Leaves Workers’ Comp Benchmark Rate
Aug 1 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara adopted and issued a rate for workers’ compensation insurance pure premium that he said reflects California’s still-recovering economy. Lara’s action...
Pipeline Company to Pay Nearly $1M for California Oil Spill
Jul 29 2022 // The owner of an underwater oil pipeline that spilled some 25,000 gallons of crude into the ocean off Southern California last year will pay nearly $1 million in cleanup costs. The Orange County Board of Supervisors on...
AM Best Removes Golden Bear in California from Under Review and Affirms Credit Ratings
Jul 28 2022 // AM Best removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” (Excellent) of Golden...
California City Paying $1.5M to Fired Police Chief After Verdict
Jul 28 2022 // The Oakland City Council approved a $1.5 million payout for a former police chief who won her whistleblower claim against the city after she alleged she was fired for calling out unethical behavior by the civilian...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Written Premium Down in 2021
Jul 27 2022 // Written premium for 2021 was 1.4% below that for 2020 and is the lowest since 2012, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California issued its quarterly report on written premium,...
California Commissioner Announces Action to Protect Residents from Non-Renewals
Jul 26 2022 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Tuesday sent out a message to residents in Mariposa County who have been ordered to evacuate due to the Oak Fire that they may have homeowners or renters insurance to help...
Firefighters Slow Growth of Massive California Blaze Near Yosemite
Jul 26 2022 // Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park that burned 55 homes and other buildings and forced thousands from their homes, officials said...
California Private Self-Insured Claim Frequency Hit 14-Year High in 2021
Jul 26 2022 // Workers’ compensation claim frequency among California’s private self-insured employers last year hit the highest level since 2007 as both medical-only and indemnity claim volume rose, according to a California...
Crews Protect Homes as California Wildfire Burns Near Yosemite
Jul 25 2022 // A destructive wildfire near Yosemite National Park burned out of control through tinder-dry forest on Sunday and had grown into one of California’s biggest blazes of the year, forcing thousands of residents to flee...
People Moves: Liberty Names Lopez Managing Partner in California; Montoya Made Strategic Partnership Advisor
Jul 25 2022 // The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers named Michael Lopez a managing partner in the firm’s Santa Rosa, California, office. Lopez has more than 20 years of leadership experience. The Liberty Company also added...
California Governor Signs Gun Law Enabling Citizens to Sue for Violations
Jul 22 2022 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a controversial gun control bill that was modeled after Texas’ vigilante abortion law, which enables private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who imports,...
Settlement in California Lawsuit by Man Strapped to Gurney During Arrest
Jul 22 2022 // The Los Angeles Police Department will pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit by a legally blind man who said he was beaten, strapped to a hospital gurney and nearly suffocated during an arrest three years ago, attorneys...
City in California Paying $360K to Settle Lawsuit by Council Member
Jul 21 2022 // The Oakland City Council agreed to approve a $360,000 settlement with a former council member who filed a lawsuit alleging the city and police violated his civil rights when officers threw him face-down inside City Hall in...
WIAA, PIIB Join Forces to Create Large California P/C Agents Group
Jul 21 2022 // The Western Insurance Agents Association and the Pacific Interstate Insurance Brokers have joined forces. The board of directors of PIIB, based on El Dorado Hills, California, voted to affiliate all its agency-cluster...
