Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Fires Will Add to 2017 Insurer Catastrophe Losses, Fitch Says
Nov 20 2017 // No U.S. reinsurance companies in Fitch Rating’s rated universe are expected to be downgraded as a result of losses from the California wildfires alone, but for a number of companies the impact of wildfire losses adds...
Business Moves
Nov 20 2017 // AmWINS, Willis Towers Watson Specialty insurance broker AmWINS Group reported that it has completed the previously-announced acquisition of 15 insurance programs from Willis Towers Watson. Terms were not disclosed. The...
Litigation Finance Investors Expanding Their Reach
Nov 20 2017 // Investor funded litigation is not new, but its use is expanding, according to experts in the field. Panelists at the 2017 Risk Management Summit in Las Vegas, Nev., addressed the growing trend of investor funded...
Disaster Planning for Agencies: Minding Your Business
Nov 20 2017 // Northern California and specifically Sonoma and Napa Counties have experienced the worst wildfires in the history of California. Most of these fires began around Oct. 8, 2017, during night with extremely high winds, that...
Chuck Norris Suing in California over MRI Chemical He Says Poisoned Wife
Nov 20 2017 // Action star Chuck Norris took on medical device manufacturers in a lawsuit filed in California alleging a chemical used in MRI imaging scans poisoned his wife. Gadolinium that doctors injected into Gena Norris to improve...
Grapes of Wrath: Insurance Fallout from the Wine Country Wildfires
Nov 20 2017 // Now that this October’s wine country fires have been contained, the ravaged San Francisco Bay area countryside can begin the rebuilding process. The effects of the wildfires, however, will be further reaching than...
Someone Else’s Wires May Have Started California Wildfires, PG&E Says
Nov 20 2017 // The deadliest of last month’s wildfires in California’s wine country may have been started by electrical equipment not owned or installed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the utility said in a court filing...
Filing Approved for First Admitted Insurer in California to Sell Cannabis Insurance
Nov 20 2017 // The California insurance commissioner has approved the first filing by an admitted commercial insurance company to sell cannabis business insurance. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in early November announced the...
Southern California Auto Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison in $180K Fraud Case
Nov 20 2017 // Hani Abujudeh, 55, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the reputed leader of an auto insurance fraud scheme, was sentenced to six years in state prison. Abujudeh was sentenced earlier this month for his involvement with a scheme...
United Valley Insurance Services in California Adds De La Torre in Marketing
Nov 17 2017 // Fresno, Calif.-based United Valley Insurance Services Inc. has named Maggie De La Torre a marketing team assistant. De La Torre holds a will provide support to the United Valley marketing team and will market high net...
California Jury Sides with J&J Against Talcum Powder Cancer Claims
Nov 17 2017 // A California jury on Thursday ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who said she developed the cancer mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the company’s talc-based products...
Modeler: Insured Losses for California Wildfires Could Reach $10.5B
Nov 16 2017 // Loss estimates for the October California wildfire siege could reach up to $10.5 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide. Boston, Mass.-based AIR on Thursday updated its loss estimates for the recent...
California’s Nonfatal Worker Injuries Remained Steady in 2016
Nov 16 2017 // The California Department of Industrial Relations has released the 2016 occupational injury and illness data on employer-reported injuries that shows nonfatal worker injured remained steady in the state. Estimates provided...
California Utility Blamed in 3 Suits for Deadly Wildfires
Nov 16 2017 // Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was blamed in three lawsuits filed this week for negligence in the wildfires that killed more than 40 people and destroyed over 8,000 homes in Northern California last month. The lawsuits...
Chicken Dish Recalled by California Company over Listeria Fears
Nov 16 2017 // A California-based Indian food company has recalled pre-packaged chicken tikka masala products over possible listeria contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said this...
California Companies Ordered to Stop Selling Workers’ Comp Policies
Nov 16 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has issued an order requiring a central valley company and its affiliates to stop selling workers’ compensation and liability policies because it is not properly licensed...
Trade Groups Push for National Labeling Law to Override States’ Requirements
Nov 16 2017 // The Grocery Manufacturers Association and dozens of other trade groups are pushing for a federal law that could override state ingredient-disclosure rules and warning labels, including California’s landmark...
Insurers Had Crews Working in Heart of California Wildfires to Prevent Loss
Nov 15 2017 // “It was all hands on deck.” That apt description of the reaction to the deadly outbreak of wildfires that ravaged California in October was from Stephen Poux, global head of risk management and loss prevention...
Federal Investigators Say Fatigue, Poor Safety Cause of Deadly California Bus Crash
Nov 15 2017 // Federal safety investigators say a sleep-deprived driver and a bus company with a poor safety record were causes of an August 2016 crash in California’s Central Valley that killed four passengers and injured 20...
M4.7 Earthquake Shakes Northern California
Nov 15 2017 // A light earthquake has struck in Northern California and been felt by some people in the surrounding area, but there are no immediate reports of damages or injuries, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The quake with a...
