Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Uber Gains in California Driver Classification But Case Isn’t Closed
Dec 17 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. beat back an aggressive bid to force it to treat California drivers as employees, but a judge’s ruling may allow a long-running fight over pay and benefits to gain traction in 2020. U.S....
California Business Owner Nailed for Workers’ Comp Fraud to Pay $944K to Insurer
Dec 16 2019 // Michael Zendejas, 47, of Turlock, Calif., was sentenced to 180 hours of community service, three years formal probation and ordered to pay $944,718 in restitution after pleading no contest to insurance fraud for under...
CSAA Insurance in California Names Hecht, Huebner Executive Vice President
Dec 16 2019 // Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA Insurance Group has named Andrea Hecht executive vice president and chief financial officer, and promoted Chief Risk Officer Jeff Huebner to executive vice president. Hecht leads the...
Boat Safety Law Proposed in Wake of California Fire That Killed 34
Dec 16 2019 // A group of California congressional members have proposed tighter safety standards for small boats after a diving charter vessel burned and sank in September, killing 34 people. Only five people – the captain and four...
As California Thins Forests to Limit Wildfire Risk, Some Resist
Dec 16 2019 // Buzzing chainsaws are interrupted by the frequent crash of breaking branches as crews fell towering trees and clear tangled brush in the densely forested Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco. Their goal: To protect...
Jupiter Receives $1M Grant to Accelerate California Fire Control Efforts
Dec 16 2019 // Predictive data and analytics firm Jupiter has received a $1 million grant from the Moore Foundation to accelerate deployment of its FireScore Operations service, a wildfire threat and intelligence platform to make it...
California Agent Brings Christmas ‘Sparkle’ to Those in Need
Dec 16 2019 // A small toy drive insurance agency owner Samantha Tradelius started after reading “Dear Santa” letters from kids in need many years ago has turned into a full-blown community effort helping hundreds of people...
Insurer Market Conduct Troubles Often Traced to Claims Handling Errors
Dec 16 2019 // Mistakes by claims professionals were the most common reason for enforcement actions against U.S. property and casualty insurers in 2018, taking the No. 1 and No. 2 spot on a top 10 list issued by the Wolters Kluwer...
Study: California Self-Insured Employers Save Over Traditional Workers’ Comp
Dec 16 2019 // A new study on California workers’ compensation shows the cost of self-insurance is 14% to 28% less than a traditional workers’ comp policy. It should be noted that the study was commissioned by the California...
California Governor Rejects PG&E Bankruptcy Plan as Not Satisfying Wildfire Law
Dec 15 2019 // California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday rejected a bankruptcy reorganization plan submitted by PG&E Corp, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, saying its proposal fails to meet the requirements of a...
FAIR Plan Asks Court to Stop California Insurance Commissioner’s Order
Dec 13 2019 // Note: This is been updated with a statement from Lara’s office. The FAIR Plan today filed a petition for a writ of mandate seeking to have a court annul, vacate, or withdraw an order issued last month by the...
California Judge Allows Gender Pay Bias Suit Against Disney to Proceed
Dec 13 2019 // Walt Disney Co. failed to persuade a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by female employees who allege the company discriminates by paying male workers better. A state judge in Los Angeles found that the 10 current and former...
Southern California Bride Tied up in Insurance Fraud Scheme
Dec 13 2019 // Vermyttya Miller, 37, of Santa Clarita, Calif., was sentenced this week to five years in county jail and ordered to pay $22,500 in restitution after pleading no contest to one count of felony insurance fraud for a wedding...
United Valley Insurance Services in California Adds Alanis
Dec 13 2019 // United Valley Insurance Services Inc. in California has named Nichole Alanis a member relations specialist. Alanis is focused on assisting members and vendors with on-boarding and training. Nichole previously worked as an...
McDonald’s Has Friends in High Places in High-Stakes Labor Fight
Dec 12 2019 // In a television commercial that’s become part of the lore surrounding Donald Trump’s affinity for McDonald’s Corp., he embraced a purple, lumpy denizen of the fast-food chain’s...
Alliant Adds Blair in California to West Coast Benefits Team
Dec 12 2019 // Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has added Los Angeles, Calif.-based Jennifer Blair to its West Coast employee benefits team. Blair will service an array of organizations across the region. Blair’s background includes...
Sage Insurance Increases Capacity, Coverage for Secondary Homes in California
Dec 12 2019 // Sage Insurance Holdings LLC (Sage), a California wildfire-focused homeowners insurance provider, has increased its capacity and will now write exposures up to $4 million TIV. For a primary home, that translates to an...
Shooting Survivor Suing Southern California Synagogue
Dec 11 2019 // A man wounded in a shooting at a San Diego, Calif.-area synagogue is suing the house of worship, alleging Chabad of Poway didn’t use federal funds meant to hire security to protect worshipers, according to a...
Firefighter Overtime Surges 65% in California, Report Shows
Dec 10 2019 // Following an unprecedented series of wildfires across California, overtime costs for firefighters surged by 65% over the past decade, pushing annual wages to nearly $5 billion, according to a newspaper analysis published...
California Department of Insurance Arrests Suspects in $500K Auto Fraud Ring
Dec 9 2019 // Investigators from the California Department of Insurance, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol have arrested four suspects for alleged involvement in an organized auto fraud...
