Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California’s Massive Wildfires Push Travelers to Seek Higher Premiums
Jan 22 2019 // California’s deadly wildfires are raising the specter of higher insurance premiums for homeowners in the state. After “two significant years in a row of losses, I think the discussion and the debate about the...
California Lawmaker to Introduce Bill to Free up Funding for Retrofits
Jan 22 2019 // California state Sen. Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, on Tuesday announced a bill to allocate $1 billion in funding over the next 10 years to retrofit homes across California. The bill was timed to follow the...
Travelers Grew Q4 Profit Despite California Wildfire, Hurricane Michael Losses
Jan 22 2019 // Travelers Cos. reported that despite catastrophe losses from the California wildfires and Hurricane Michael, it boosted its profit in the fourth quarter of 2018 thanks to growth in premiums and investment income. Net...
Alliant in California Forms Partnership with PSP Investments
Jan 22 2019 // Newport Beach, Calif.-based Alliant Insurance Services Inc. announced that a Canadian pension investment manager is making an investment in the firm. The investment by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board is joined...
Edison Trying to Shift Blame for California Mudslides
Jan 22 2019 // Edison International said much of the damage from the mudslides that swept through the coastal town of Montecito last year was the result of poorly designed and maintained debris basins for which local governments are...
Insurance Covered $90B of Natural Disaster Losses in 2018, Leaving 60% Protection Gap
Jan 22 2019 // The economic costs of last year’s 394 natural catastrophe events came to US$225 billion with insurance covering US$90 billion of the overall total, creating the fourth costliest year on record of insured losses,...
California Wildfires, Hurricane Michael Top List of 2018’s Costliest Natural Disasters: Munich Re
Jan 21 2019 // The costliest natural catastrophes occurred in the United States in 2018 with one of California’s devastating wildfires and Hurricane Michael topping the list, according to Munich Re. A report from Munich Re on last...
Industry Trends to Exploit for 2019
Jan 21 2019 // It is time to take out our crystal ball and plan for 2019 and how our insurance industry will be impacted by the trends around us. Those that consider these changes, and plan ahead, will usually be in a better position...
Wildfires, Dynamex Dominate California Wholesaler Conference
Jan 21 2019 // Wildfires and the Dynamex decision dominated discussions at an insurance wholesaler conference in early January. The California Wholesaler Association conference in La Jolla, Calif., from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8 featured numerous...
California OK’s Pot Deliveries into Communities that Ban Sales
Jan 18 2019 // California has endorsed a rule that will allow home marijuana deliveries statewide, even into communities that have banned commercial pot sales. The regulation by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control was opposed by police...
California Insurance Commissioner Names Executive Team
Jan 18 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced new members of his executive team, including the first Latina chief deputy in the history of the California Department of Insurance. The new executive team members...
PG&E Says It Won’t Commit to Paying Settlements With 2015 California Fire Victims
Jan 18 2019 // PG&E Corp. is so cash-starved that it won’t commit to paying settlements reached with people who lost their homes in a 2015 wildfire caused by a tree falling on a power line. The disclosure by a lawyer for the...
Enviro Risks, Climate Change Lead Concerns in World Economic Report
Jan 17 2019 // Environmental risks continue to dominate long-term concerns, a new report shows. World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2019 released on Wednesday included as collaborators Marsh & McLennan Cos. and Zurich...
3.7M Earthquake Hits Northern California
Jan 17 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a 3.7 preliminary magnitude earthquake rattled the small city of Piedmont in northern California. The USGS says the tremor occurred on Wednesday at 4:42 a.m. The impacts of the...
Woodruff Sawyer in California Names Mckenna National Healthcare Practice Leader
Jan 17 2019 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff Sawyer has named Frank Mckenna senior vice president and national healthcare practice leader. Mckenna will be responsible for expanding and growing the current Healthcare...
Bhatia Joins California’s Preferred Employers Insurance as Sr. Underwriter
Jan 16 2019 // San Diego, California-based Preferred Employers Insurance, a Berkley Company, has added workers’ compensation underwriting expert, Minoo Bhatia, as a senior business development underwriter. Bhatia comes to Preferred...
Mudslide, Traffic Snarls Accompany 1st of Expected SoCal Storms
Jan 16 2019 // The first in a series of Pacific storms brought heavy rain to Southern California and snow in the mountains on Jan. 14, closing some highways and snarling traffic. Fears were that the rain could unleash mud and debris...
CSAA in California Names Evans VP of Regulatory and Government Affairs
Jan 15 2019 // CSAA Insurance Group has named Katherine Evans president of regulatory and government affairs. Evans will oversee all areas of CSAA Insurance Group’s government and regulatory practices, and will report to the...
PG&E Restructuring Highlights California’s Inverse Condemnation Rule
Jan 15 2019 // PG&E Corp.’s chances of emerging from bankruptcy proceedings hinge in part on an arcane California legal rule that threatens to keep the utility owner perpetually on the hook for liabilities from catastrophic...
Swiss Re Estimates Its Q4 Natural Catastrophe Claims to Hit US$1.0B
Jan 15 2019 // Swiss Re estimates it will pay claims of approximately $1.0 billion for natural catastrophes booked in the fourth quarter of 2018, with the largest generated from California wildfires and Hurricane Michael. These natural...
