Latest California Headlines

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

Signers National Acquires Eclipse Risk Insurance Services in California

Aug 24 2023 // Signers National acquired nonprofit insurance company Eclipse Risk Insurance Services in California. Signers National also acquired the nonprofit insurance firm Whittaker Agency in Illinois. The two new businesses will be...

Maui Fire Victims Pursue Legal Tactic That Led to $13.5B California Settlement

Aug 23 2023 // Hawaii property owners are seizing on a legal shortcut used by fire victims in California to secure compensation from Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. for damages following the fires that ravaged Maui. The strategy, which...

Tile, Amazon Face Lawsuit From Stalking Victims Over Tracking Device Product

Aug 23 2023 // A tracking device called Tile may be effective in preventing its user from losing keys, a dog, or a purse, but it is also a tool used by stalkers, according to two women who have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit...

San Francisco Archdiocese Declares Bankruptcy Amid Hundreds of Sex Abuse Lawsuits

Aug 23 2023 // San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy this week, saying the filing is necessary to manage more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials. The Chapter 11 protection...

Declarations

Aug 21 2023 // Seltzer Water High “Maybe having a 10-milligram THC-infused seltzer water is something that’s more up your alley. … In my opinion, it’s more social.” — Alex Buschmann, cannabis practice...

Business Moves

Aug 21 2023 // National Marsh McLennan Agency, Graham Co. Marsh McLennan Agency, a subsidiary of Marsh, acquired Graham Company, a risk management consultancy and independent insurance and employee benefits broker. Founded in 1960,...

California Firm to Pay $1M for Selling Devices to Thwart Truck Smog Controls

Aug 21 2023 // A California company will pay $1 million for violating federal environmental laws by making and selling devices that defeated smog controls on diesel trucks, prosecutors announced. Sinister Manufacturing Co. Inc. of...

Facts Are Friends

Aug 21 2023 // Recently, a carrier’s representatives walked into one of my client’s offices. This carrier announced they needed a 25% rate increase because of the carriers’ poor loss ratios. My top clients are well...

Potential of ‘Life-Threatening Flooding’ from Hilary in SoCal Mountains, Deserts and Southwest Nevada

Aug 18 2023 // AccuWeather on Friday issued an alert warning of the potential of a “life-threatening, flooding disaster” in the mountains and deserts of Southern California and far southwest Nevada due to Hurricane Hilary. In...

California Town of Paradise Deploys Warning Sirens as 5-Year Anniversary of Deadly Fire Approaches

Aug 18 2023 // California residents driven from their homes by one of the deadliest wildfires in recent history had one request before they would rebuild in the small mountain town of Paradise: warning sirens to bolster town emergency...

Hurricane Hilary Threatens Flooding Rain in California, Nevada and Arizona

Aug 17 2023 // AccuWeather meteorologists say Hurricane Hilary is anticipated to bring heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds to parts of California, Nevada and Arizona. The meteorologists issued the forecast in a media alert that...

California-Oregon Wildfires Prompt Evacuation Orders

Aug 17 2023 // Growing fires near the California-Oregon border have prompted evacuation orders. A Siskiyou County wildfire, the Head Fire, started in the Klamath National Forest after a bout of thunderstorms and lightning. A social media...

Arrests Made in California ‘Family and Friend’ Auto Insurance Fraud Ring

Aug 17 2023 // An alleged “family and friend” organized auto insurance fraud ring in California was seemingly broken up by the Urban Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force when seven people were arrested on Wednesday in...

More Funding for U.S.-Based Provider of Retained Climate Risk Reinsurance

Aug 17 2023 // Demex Group raised $5 million from a syndicate of existing and new investors the company says will address accumulating losses caused by secondary perils. The managing general agent, which “operates at the...

Towerstone Acquires Fortuna General Insurance Agency in California

Aug 17 2023 // Towerstone acquired Fortuna General Insurance in Simi Valley, California. The partnership allows the company to take advantage of Fortuna’s wide array of carrier and broker relationships and its expertise in the...

What Sparks US Wildfires: Power Lines, Burning Trash and Lightning

Aug 15 2023 // The fast-moving fire that ripped through Maui’s historic town of Lahaina killed more than 90 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation,...

People Moves: CIBA in California Names Aldorisio Head of Product Development

Aug 15 2023 // CIBA, headquartered in Glendale, Calif., named Andrew Aldorisio head of product development and a member of the executive management team. Aldorisio has more than 15 years of insurance experience, most recently as chief...

People Moves: Woodruff Sawyer in California Names New VPs

Aug 14 2023 // Woodruff Sawyer, based in San Francisco, Calif., named two new vice presidents. Owen Igbinosun joined the firm as vice president, management liability, focused on private equity and real estate in the upper middle...

Surplus Lines Premium Increases 16% to Nearly $36 Billion Through June

Aug 10 2023 // Surplus lines premium reached nearly $36 billion through the first six months of 2023, according to the 2023 Midyear Report of the U.S. Surplus Lines Service and Stamping Offices. Premium increased about 16% overall...

Cargo Theft Increased 57% in Q2; High-Value Shipments Targeted

Aug 9 2023 // There were 582 supply chain events reported across the United States and Canada in the second quarter of 2023, a 57% increase when compared to the second quarter of 2022, according to the latest CargoNet report. Ongoing...