Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Outrage over PG&E’s Plan to Cap California Wildfire Liabilities at $18B
Sep 10 2019 // California utility giant PG&E Corp. has issued its long-awaited plan for emerging from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history: Raise debt, offer equity and cap the wildfire liabilities that led to its collapse...
California Highway Barrier Wasn’t Repaired Prior to Fatal Tesla Crash
Sep 10 2019 // California state transportation officials failed to repair a highway safety device seriously damaged in a high-speed crash 11 days before a fatal collision in March 2018 involving a Tesla in Autopilot mode, the National...
Judge Permits Nationwide Privacy Lawsuit Against Facebook to Proceed
Sep 10 2019 // A federal judge on Monday ordered Facebook Inc. to face most of a nationwide lawsuit seeking damages for letting third parties such as Cambridge Analytica access users’ private data, calling the social media...
California Commissioner Names Members to Insurance Diversity Task Force
Sep 9 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday announced the newest members of the 2019 – 2020 Insurance Diversity Task Force, which makes recommendations to the commissioner on ways to increase diversity...
Automated Driver Assist Cars Still a Work in Progress
Sep 9 2019 // To the human driver, it would have been an obvious obstacle: a police car and fire truck, emergency lights blazing, blocking the lane ahead. But to the Tesla Inc. Model S traveling down a Southern California freeway last...
Conference: California Workers’ Comp Should Embrace Innovation
Sep 6 2019 // The workers’ compensation market apparently needs to do some catching up where it concerns technology. “Historically we’ve been really slow to adapt to technology and innovation,” said Shaun...
Dive Boat Owners Seek to Head off Lawsuits After 34 Die in Fire off California Coast
Sep 6 2019 // The owners of the dive boat where 34 people perished in a fire off Southern California filed a lawsuit Thursday to head off potentially costly litigation, a move condemned by some observers as disrespectful to the families...
Capital Insurance Group in California Names Zic Controller
Sep 6 2019 // Monterey, Calif.-based Capital Insurance Group has named Rob Zic controller. Zic will lead the CIG accounting team and focus on reporting accuracy, enhanced controls, improved documentation and automation efficiencies. He...
Transatlantic Underwriters Names Waltenburg President in California
Sep 6 2019 // Transatlantic Underwriters has named Colby Waltenburg president. Waltenburg was previously a vice president. He joined TAU in June and expanded the presence of the company by opening the first West Coast branch, located in...
Tesla Insurance Will Use Driver Video, GPS Data Subject to States’ Approval
Sep 6 2019 // Tesla Inc.’s use of individual customer data, such as vehicle camera footage and GPS, to price its new insurance products will depend on drivers’ authorization and individual U.S. state laws, a senior company...
WSS Acquires Klein & Costa Insurance Services in California
Sep 5 2019 // Western Security Surplus has acquired Klein & Costa Insurance Services in Santa Ana, Calif. K&C was founded by Clarence Costa and Jim Klein. K&C’s primary focus is on small to medium specialty...
Report Sees ‘Explosive’ Growth for North American Cannabis Market
Sep 5 2019 // The cannabis market in North America will be worth $47.3 billion by 2024, a new report shows. The report out this week paints a positive portrait of the cannabis industry in the U.S. and Canada that “is growing at an...
Tesla Autopilot Design, Plus Driver Error, to Blame for 2018 Crash: Safety Board
Sep 5 2019 // The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday cited driver errors and Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot design as the probable cause of a January 2018 crash of a Model S into a parked fire truck on a highway in...
California Commissioner Sorry for Accepting Insurance Industry Contributions
Sep 4 2019 // Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has offered an apology for accepting campaign contributions from the insurance industry. Lara in a letter that was reportedly sent on Tuesday acknowledged that his campaign solicited...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Medical Payment Trends Fell in 2018
Sep 4 2019 // Medical payments in California’s workers’ compensation system continued to decline in 2018 as the medical payments per claim decreased, according to a report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance...
Bender Insurance in California Names Beno Commercial Lines Claims Specialist
Sep 4 2019 // Bender Insurance Solutions in Sacramento, Calif., has named Rick J. Beno claims specialist in the commercial lines department. Beno has more than 30 years of experience in the management of claims. Bender Insurance...
Risk Strategies Acquires Risk Management Advisors in California
Sep 4 2019 // Risk Strategies has acquired Risk Management Advisors in Long Beach, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Risk Management Advisors designs and administers captive insurance programs and self-insured plans. Client...
Report Examines First-Year Impact of California’s New Drug Formulary
Sep 3 2019 // A new report shows that an evidence-based drug formulary put into effect by the California Division of Workers’ Compensation over a year ago may be working. The formulary went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. It was...
9 Missing, 25 Dead in Southern California Dive Boat Fire
Sep 3 2019 // Divers and search crews were still looking Tuesday for nine missing people after at least 25 were confirmed dead when a boat packed with scuba divers caught fire near an island off the Southern California coast. The...
Relation Insurance in California Names Saich to Lead National Sales Team
Sep 3 2019 // Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Relation Insurance Services has named Paul Saich national sales leader. Saich’s primary focus will be to develop and implement growth sales strategies, tactics and action plans for the...
