Latest California Headlines

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

Kaiser to Pay $49M in California for Dumping Private Medical Records, Medical Waste

Sep 11 2023 // Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $49 million as part of a settlement with California prosecutors who say the health care giant illegally disposed of thousands of private medical records, hazardous materials and medical...

People Moves: California Commissioner Makes Appointments to Curriculum Board, CAARP and COIN

Sep 6 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara named new members Colbie McRae, Gloria Mitchell, and Vinh Truong to the Curriculum Board; Michael Golden to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) Advisory...

Reinsurance Association Releases Paper on California Homeowners Insurance Market, Urges Policymakers Consider Risks of Inaction

Sep 5 2023 // The Reinsurance Association of America has come out with a white paper on the California homeowners insurance market that urges policymakers consider the risks of inaction. The paper, “Dynamics and Challenges in...

California Regulators OK More Gas Storage Capacity at The Site of Massive Methane Leak

Sep 5 2023 // California regulators last week approved a controversial proposal to greatly increase storage capacity at the site of the nation’s largest known methane leak, which sickened thousands of families and forced them from...

Report: Climate Change Boosts Risk of Extreme Wildfires 25%

Sep 5 2023 // A group of scientists used machine learning to quantify empirical relationships between temperature and the risk of extreme daily wildfire growth in California to show the influence of temperature on the risk – and they...

Climate Change Means Californians Need Flood Insurance Now, Too

Sep 5 2023 // Californians know wildfires and earthquakes; hurricanes, not so much. So when Tropical Storm Hilary inundated Southern California in normally bone-dry August, it showed just how exposed homeowners are to a growing...

Business Moves

Sep 4 2023 // National Acturis Group, Broker Buddha The software-as-a-service firm Acturis Group has entered the U.S. market with the acquisition of Broker Buddha. Broker Buddha, based in New York City, provides insurance brokers and...

People & Places

Sep 4 2023 // National Tricia Loney DUAL North America, headquartered in San Diego, California appointed Peter Gosselink as executive vice president of its fine art program. Dual also has named Tricia Loney as head of specialty...

Claims Pros Warned About Confirmation Bias and Inflated Line Items

Sep 4 2023 // The charred remains of a dog found among the ruins of a house that was destroyed in a sudden fire added an air of legitimacy to the insurance claim. For sure, homeowners sometimes resort to arson, but who would be so...

Personal Lines in Surplus Lines

Sep 4 2023 // The continuing trend of more personal lines business making its way into the E&S market is surprising, says John Jennings, CEO and one of the founding members of Jencap Group. “I think that is probably the...

Hard Market Pressure: Surplus Lines Lifting Heavy Load in Turbulent Times

Sep 4 2023 // As the longest hard market in memory refuses to fade, standard property/casualty carriers are not only continuing to raise prices but also reimagining their books by shedding risks they no longer want. It’s affecting...

California Voting on Increasing Storage At Site of Massive Methane Leak Despite Risks

Sep 1 2023 // California officials are expected to vote on a proposal to increase storage capacity at the site of the nation’s largest known methane leak that sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles...

Appeals Court Dismisses 14 COVID Business Insurance Claims Against Travelers

Aug 31 2023 // The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed lawsuits by 14 businesses seeking insurance coverage from Travelers Insurance for business losses stemming from COVID-19 and the related government shutdown orders. The...

LP Insurance Services Acquires Wasserman & Associates in California

Aug 30 2023 // LP Insurance Services LLC acquired Wasserman & Associates in Northern California. Wasserman & Associates joins the LP Insurance Services Gold River/Sacramento office. Wasserman & Associates has been serving the...

California Labor Commissioner Cites Farm Labor Contractor and Growers $1.9M

Aug 29 2023 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office cited farm labor contractor M.G. Luna, Inc. of Parlier and growers Madera Persimmon Growers Inc. of Madera and Willems Farms Inc. of Kingsburg $1,926,531, for wage theft...

Jury in California Awards $3.75M to Protester Hit by Hard-Foam Projectiles

Aug 29 2023 // A jury awarded $3.75 million in damages this week to a protester shot twice with hard-foam projectiles fired by Los Angeles police during demonstrations in 2020. Jurors ruled that the LA Police Department was negligent...

2023 to Test Recent Growth in Private Flood Insurance Market

Aug 29 2023 // The private flood insurance market has been growing but 2023 may provide a real test following Tropical Storm Hilary in California as well as future storms that may come during the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane...

KCC Estimates Storm Hilary Caused Nearly $600M in Insured Losses

Aug 28 2023 // Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. said privately insured losses in the U.S. from Hurricane Hilary will be near $600 million. Once a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Hilary weakened to a tropical storm before it made...

Uber Raises Minimum Age for Most California Drivers to 25 over Insurance Costs

Aug 25 2023 // Uber raised the minimum age requirement for most of its new drivers in California to 25 on Thursday under rules the company said are necessary because of the rising costs of commercial auto insurance in the state. The new...

Former University of Southern California Star Reggie Bush Plans Defamation Suit Against NCAA

Aug 24 2023 // Former Southern California running back Reggie Bush plans to file a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA over a statement made by college sports’ governing body about the reasoning for its decision not to restore the...