Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California FAIR Plan Can Offer Only Fire Insurance, Judge Says
Mar 9 2020 // A fund that offers only fire insurance to California residents in wildfire-prone areas can’t be required to provide coverage for other hazards such as flooding or theft, a judge ruled in late February. Superior Court...
Alleged Family-Run Auto Insurance Fraud Ring Snared in California
Mar 9 2020 // California Department of Insurance detectives arrested seven suspects on 31 felony charges of auto insurance fraud for their alleged involvement in a family-run organized auto fraud ring dubbed Operation Car...
California Public Utilities Commission Fines PG&E $2.1B over Wildfires
Mar 9 2020 // The California Public Utilities Commission issued an administrative law judge decision imposing $2.137 billion in penalties against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the utility’s role in the catastrophic 2017 and...
Topa in California Names Stern Director of Claims Auditing and Compliance
Mar 6 2020 // Calabasas, Calif.-based Topa Insurance Co. has named Kari Stern director of claims auditing and compliance. Stern is responsible for department-wide legal and regulatory compliance, and manages the internal and external...
One U.S. State May Look at Insurers’ Fossil Fuel Investments and Underwriting to Combat Climate Change
Mar 5 2020 // A Connecticut lawmaker has plans for a bill that not only calls for the state to look at which insurers have fossil fuel investments – a growing trend among government entities as of late – but also which ones are...
PG&E Not Committing to Expanding Tree-Trimming Force in California
Mar 4 2020 // Lawyers for Pacific Gas & Electric said the utility can’t commit to hiring hundreds more tree trimmers in the way that a federal judge wants to cut the risk of starting more catastrophic wildfires in...
Earthquake Risk Prompts Order to Drain California Dam
Mar 4 2020 // Worried that an earthquake could collapse a big dam south of San Francisco, officials have ordered its reservoir to be completely drained by October to reduce the risk of floodwaters spilling into Silicon Valley. The...
Alliant Names de Dreuzy in California to Head Benefits Practice
Mar 3 2020 // Newport Beach, Calf.-based Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has named Philippe de Dreuzy to head up its global benefits practice as senior vice president and global practice leader. Dreuzy will be based in the San Francisco...
Family-run Auto Insurance Fraud Ring Snared in ‘Operation Car Seats’ in California
Mar 3 2020 // California Department of Insurance detectives arrested seven suspects on 31 felony charges of auto insurance fraud for their alleged involvement in a family-run organized auto fraud ring dubbed Operation Car...
California Residents Sue Nearby Cannabis Growers Over Smell
Mar 2 2020 // The smell of marijuana has driven some residents of the Southern California city of Carpinteria to sue local growers. The lawsuit filed last week contends the growers should seal their greenhouses and use...
Agency M&As: Private Equity Still in Driver’s Seat; Digital Agencies Attract Attention
Mar 2 2020 // The private equity bandwagon continued to roll through the insurance agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions territory in 2019. As many as two-thirds of all deals involved private equity, according to experts. Most...
USDA’s Wildfire Indemnity Program Offers Possible Drought Assistance for California Farmers
Feb 28 2020 // U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced additional disaster assistance available to agricultural producers, including producers impacted by drought and excess moisture as well as sugar beet growers. California...
California Bill Aimed at Property Insurance in Communities Investing in Wildfire Prevention
Feb 28 2020 // Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Marin County, has introduced Assembly Bill 3258, which would require property insurance providers to take into consideration local government investments in wildfire prevention when determining...
California Worries About Drought and Wildfires Amid Dry Winter
Feb 28 2020 // California officials are bracing for the potential of another drought and an early and more intense wildfire season amid a record-breaking warm and dry February. February is shaping up to be driest on record for much of...
California Public Utilities Commission Fines PG&E $2.1B over Wildfires
Feb 28 2020 // The California Public Utilities Commission has issued an administrative law judge decision imposing $2.137 billion in penalties against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the utility’s role in the catastrophic 2017...
California Father And Son Charged With Auto Insurance Fraud
Feb 28 2020 // A father and son from California have been charged with felony counts of auto insurance fraud after allegedly falsifying an insurance claim in order to receive an undeserved payout from an insurance company. The charges...
California Wildfire Victims Fear They’ll Be Last in Payout
Feb 27 2020 // A $13.5 billion settlement between victims of California’s catastrophic wildfires and the utility blamed for causing them was supposed to bring some peace and hope to people still reeling from the...
Congress Urged to Uphold, Not Override, State Privacy Laws
Feb 27 2020 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Tuesday sent a letter to four top U.S. lawmakers urging them not to pre-empt the state’s new privacy law with a watered down federal legislation. The California Consumer...
39 States Investigating E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Marketing to Underage Users
Feb 27 2020 // A group of 39 state attorneys general on Tuesday announced an investigation into Juul Labs Inc.’s marketing practices, adding to mounting legal and regulatory problems for the e-cigarette maker over its role in the...
Time Warner Cable Will Pay $18.8M in California Internet Case
Feb 27 2020 // Time Warner Cable will pay $18.8 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed it misled more than 170,000 California customers who paid for high-speed internet service that they didn’t receive, prosecutors said. Eligible...
