Latest California Headlines

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

Probe into Student Death Finds California School Violated Rules

Dec 10 2018 // An investigation into a 13-year-old student’s death at a Northern California private school has found the school violated state rules when its staff put him in a face-down restraint position for nearly an hour.State...

Chiropractor in California Pleads Guilty in $150M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

Dec 10 2018 // A Los Angeles, Calif. chiropractor has pleaded guilty to taking part in a $150 million workers’ compensation fraud scheme.Paul Turley of Granada Hills pleaded last week to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud,...

Report: Return on Net Worth for California Workers’ Comp Insurers Rose

Dec 7 2018 // A new report shows the average return on net worth for California workers ‘ compensation insurers rose to 9.9 percent in 2017, the fourth consecutive increase.The report comes from the National Association of...

Target Paying $7.4M to Settle California Waste Lawsuit

Dec 7 2018 // The Target store chain has agreed to pay $7.4 million to settle California allegations that it improperly dumped hazardous waste into landfills, ranging from batteries to drugs and syringes.Minnesota-based Target...

Deadly California ‘Firenado’ Explained in New Study

Dec 7 2018 // A rare fire tornado that raged during this summer’s deadly Carr Fire in Northern California was created by a combination of scorching weather, erratic winds and an ice-topped cloud that towered miles into the...

Aon Cites Need for Mitigation as Insured Wildfire Losses Top $10B for Second Year

Dec 7 2018 // Total aggregated economic losses for the wildfires that have burned across Northern and Southern California throughout the month are expected to minimally exceed $10 billion, while insurance claims payouts for wildfires...

Emails Released in U.K. Probe Show How Facebook Wielded Users’ Data

Dec 7 2018 // Facebook Inc. wielded user data like a bargaining chip, providing access when that sharing might encourage people to spend more time on the social network — and imposing strict limits on partners in cases where it...

Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Highlights Safety Measures in Produce Industry

Dec 7 2018 // After repeated food poisoning outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce, the produce industry is confronting the failure of its own safety measures in preventing contaminations.The E. coli outbreak announced just before...

Modeler: Insured Losses from Camp Wildfire in California at $6B to $9B

Dec 6 2018 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that industry insured losses from the Camp Fire in Northern California will be between $6 billion and $9 billion, and taken together with the Woolsey fire in Southern...

California Attorney General Brought into PG&E Wildfire Probe

Dec 6 2018 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was asked by a federal judge to weigh in on whether reckless operation of power lines by PG&E Corp. in connection with deadly Northern California wildfires would constitute a...

Farmers Expects $2.1B in Claims from California Wildfires

Dec 5 2018 // Farmers Insurance expects $2.1 billion in claims from the California wildfires in November.The Los Angeles, Calif.-based carrier said it has so far received more than 9,000 claims combined for the Camp Fire in Northern...

Woodruff Sawyer Names Margolin Northern California Employee Benefits Practice Leader

Dec 5 2018 // Woodruff Sawyer has named Joelle Margolin the Northern California employee benefits practice leader. Margolin has nearly 20 years of experience, and is a former employment lawyer and long-term HR professional. She was...

California School District to Settle Child Molest Lawsuit for $6.2M

Dec 5 2018 // Attorneys say a Southern California school district has agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle a lawsuit over a worker who allegedly molested three elementary school students.The Riverside Press-Enterprise says the agreement...

California Highway Patrol May Have Used Tesla Autopilot to Stop Speeding Car

Dec 5 2018 // The California Highway Patrol says it may have used the Autopilot system of a Tesla to stop the car after its driver fell asleep.The CHP says officers attempted to stop the Tesla Model S, which was doing about 70 mph on a...

Schools Open 3 Weeks After Northern California Wildfire

Dec 4 2018 // Monday marked a return to school and some semblance of routine for thousands of children who lost their homes to a deadly wildfire in Northern California.Schools in Butte County have been closed since Nov. 8, when the Camp...

Expert Sees a ‘Strong Need’ for Insurance for Cannabis Industry

Dec 3 2018 // There’s “still a really strong need” for specialty insurance to cover cannabis businesses as well as medical professionals prescribing cannabis, according to an attorney who specializes in the sector.Ian...

Will California See More Laws and Regulations in Wake of Wildfires?

Dec 3 2018 // Last year’s California wildfires destroyed thousands of homes and cost billions of dollars, but they also created numerous new laws and regulations in their wake as Legislators and insurance regulators looked for...

Imagery and Artificial Intelligence in Wildfire Risk

Dec 3 2018 // Fires across North America in 2018 have continued the pattern of extreme destruction established by significant insured loss events in both Northern and Southern California last year and the 2016 disasters in Alberta and...

California Seizes Small Insurer Merced P&C Due to Wildfire Claims

Dec 2 2018 // California regulators moved Friday to take over an insurance company that can’t pay out all claims following a massive wildfire that destroyed more than 13,000 homes.Merced Property & Casualty Company was pushed...

Modeler: Insured Losses from Woolsey Fire in Southern California at Least $2.5B

Nov 30 2018 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide on Friday said it estimates that insured losses from the Woolsey Fire in Southern California will be at least $2.5 billion.Moody’s on Thursday released estimates showing...