Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Jury Awards Woman $31M in California Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Jun 28 2018 // A 58-year-old Southern California woman has been awarded $31 million in an age discrimination case against her former employer. Codie Rael of Ontario sued Washington-based Danaher Corp. and two subsidiaries, claiming that...

California Marijuana Retailers Cut Prices Ahead of New Testing Rules

Jun 28 2018 // Bargain basement bud is on the menu in California, but you need to act fast to cash in on the cheap weed. Regulations being phased in six months after the state broadly legalized marijuana require that pot sold after...

XL Catlin, Bamboo Insurance to Provide Property Coverage In California

Jun 28 2018 // XL Catlin and new insurtech-focused program administrator Bamboo Insurance have entered into an underwriting agreement to provide property insurance in California. Bamboo Insurance is a California-based program...

Families of Pilots File Wrongful Death Suit in 2016 Arizona Helicopter Crash

Jun 27 2018 // The families of two pilots who died in a 2016 helicopter crash in western Arizona have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the California-based manufacturer of the aircraft. The suit filed last Friday in Los Angeles...

Safety Probe of Tesla Crash Cites Battery Fire Risk

Jun 27 2018 // A Tesla Inc. Model S involved in a May 8 fatal high-speed crash in Florida reignited twice after firefighters extinguished a fire in the electric vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a...

California Workers’ Comp Division Says Temporary Total Disability Rates to Increase for 2019

Jun 26 2018 // The 2019 minimum and maximum temporary total disability rates will increase on Jan. 1, 2019, the California Division of Workers’ Compensation announced on Tuesday. The minimum TTD rate will increase from $182.29 to...

Northern California Wildfires Flare up in Heat, High Winds

Jun 26 2018 // Thousands fled their homes as major wildfires encroached on a charred area of Northern California still recovering from severe blazes in recent years, sparking concern the state may be in for another destructive series of...

Court Nixes Cities’ Climate Change Public Nuisance Lawsuit Against Oil Firms

Jun 26 2018 // BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. escaped blame for the public costs of global warming when a U.S. judge ruled that lawsuits by cities against oil companies aren’t the answer to climate change. “The...

States’ Adjuster Licensing Requirements Come Under Scrutiny

Jun 25 2018 // It’s time for reciprocity across states in insurance adjuster licensing, according to a new report. The study by the Pacific Research Institute into state licensing requirements,“Breaking Down Barriers,”...

California Workers’ Comp Rating Bureau Exploring Blockchain, Behavioral Science

Jun 22 2018 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv One wouldn’t normally associate blockchain with workers’ compensation, two completely different industries that seem worlds apart. But as it turns out, the technology is of value...

Motorcyclist Hit by Police SUV in California to Get $12M

Jun 22 2018 // Officials in Oakland, Calif. have agreed to pay $12 million to a motorcyclist who lost a leg and was badly hurt when struck by a police vehicle that allegedly ran a red light. The East Bay Times reported that the proposed...

Sea Level Rise Puts $117.5B at Risk from Chronic Flooding

Jun 21 2018 // Those interested in risk management are starting to take climate change a bit more seriously. The evidence is anecdotal, but for that proof one can just ask Phil Renaud, executive director for the Risk Institute at Ohio...

Report: California Self-Insured Workers’ Comp Claims Rose Only Slightly Last Year

Jun 21 2018 // California public self-insured workers’ compensation claims from fiscal year 2016-2017 rose less than 0.4 percent compared to the corresponding data from the prior year despite a 2.9 percent Increase in covered...

Zenefits in California Names Vaughn as Senior Vice President of Business Operations

Jun 20 2018 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Zenefits has named Issac Vaughn to its executive team as senior vice president of business operations. He reports to Jay Fulcher, chairman and CEO. Vaughn will work with the Zenefits’...

Court Rules Failed California Workers’ Comp Insurer Can’t Use Special Funds for Administrative Expenses

Jun 20 2018 // The Appellate Court of Illinois has issued a decision supporting California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and the California Insurance Guarantee Association’s position that Lumbermens California workers’...

EPIC Adds Crystal & Co.’s Chu as Vice President in Southern California

Jun 19 2018 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Brian Chu in Southern California as a vice president. Chu will be based in EPIC’s Downtown Los Angeles office, reporting to Jim Gillette, president of EPIC’s...

Safety Agency to Watch Tesla Car Fire Exam Following California Incident

Jun 19 2018 // The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a technical specialist to observe Tesla Inc.’s examination of a Model S that caught fire in California on Friday, the agency said in a statement. The action is not...

Risk Strategies Acquires Craford Benefit Consultants in California

Jun 18 2018 // Risk Strategies has acquired San Rafael, Calif.-based Craford Benefit Consultants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Craford is an employee consulting and benefits brokerage firm that also has offices in Portland, Ore....

Maggie Bender-Johnson Named President of Warren G. Bender in California

Jun 18 2018 // Sacramento, Calif.-based Warren G. Bender Co. has named Maggie Bender-Johnson president. Bender-Johnson, formerly vice president of operations, has been a part of Warren G. Bender since 2005. Her father, Stephen Bender,...

Coffee Doesn’t Need a Cancer Warning, California Agency Says

Jun 18 2018 // Starbucks Corp. and other coffee retailers are looking to get a reprieve in a legal battle over whether they need to post warnings in California that a cup of java contains chemicals known to cause cancer. The California...