Latest California Headlines

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

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...

More Employers Adopting ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy for Marijuana Use

Jun 18 2018 // FPI Management, a property company in California, wants to hire dozens of people. Factories from New Hampshire to Michigan need workers. Hotels in Las Vegas are desperate to fill jobs. Those employers and many others are...

Keeping Up With Construction Insurance

Jun 18 2018 // Brokers who specialize in the construction industry love their clients and are very committed to keeping up with their needs. Ask them, “So what’s new?” and the conversations inevitably veer off in...

California State Fund Says It Reduced Opioid Prescriptions by 60%

Jun 18 2018 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is reporting a significant reduction in the number of opioid prescriptions for injured workers through a program launched four years ago. State Fund’s...

California’s First Cannabis Business Owners Policy Approved

Jun 18 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has approved the first Cannabis Business Owners Policy in the State of California. The American Association of Insurance Services designed the new CannaBOP program for cannabis...

Bonding with California’s Autonomous Vehicle Testing and Deployment Regs

Jun 18 2018 // A new legislative framework for autonomous vehicle testing and deployment in California created this year is expected to lead to a strong wave of development of this technology in the state. In February 2018, the Office of...

WCIRB: California Workers’ Comp Written Premium to be Down Again This Year

Jun 15 2018 // Lower workers’ compensation rates in California will bring down written premium once again this year, according to a forecast from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. That revelation is expected...

California Wildfire Survivor Bills Pass Senate Committee

Jun 15 2018 // Four bills sponsored by the California Department of Insurance that the department believes will strengthen consumer protections for wildfire survivors have passed the Senate Insurance Committee with unanimous, bipartisan...

EEOC Sues Tapioca Express in California for Sexual Harassment

Jun 15 2018 // Tapioca Express, a South El Monte, Calif.-based milk tea franchise, and two of its franchisees violated federal law by subjecting female employees to sexual harassment and forcing some to quit because of the abuse, the...

California Doctor Indicted in $700K Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

Jun 13 2018 // Dr. Gary Royce Wisner, 61, of Lodi, Calif., is scheduled for arraignment today at the San Joaquin County Superior Court on 11 felony counts of insurance fraud for allegedly bilking insurers out of more than $700,000 by...