Latest California Headlines

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

People – West

Jul 21 2014 // Cindy Belcher has been promoted to chief operating officer of Los Angeles, Calif.-based Cooperative of American Physicians Inc.Her promotion coincides with the announcement by CEO James L. Weidner that he will retire...

Rite Aid Settles California Lawsuit for Nearly $500,000

Jul 21 2014 // Rite Aid will pay nearly a half-million dollars to settle California claims that it didn’t follow consumer protection rules.The settlement, approved in early July in San Diego, also calls for the drugstore chain to...

Woodruff-Sawyer Names Delaney Vice President in Southern California

Jul 18 2014 // Karen K. Delaney has been named vice president and Southern California employee benefits market leader at Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. Delaney will work with the firm’s leadership and provide marketing solutions to...

California Workers’ Comp Officials Continue to Praise Reforms

Jul 17 2014 // Touting California’s still-young workers’ compensation reform law as a “pragmatic middle” compromise that seems to be working, two of the top officials responsible for the system talked up some of...

Analysis: NFL Concussion Decision Could Change Liability Policies

Jul 16 2014 // Insurance industry professionals and attorneys are closely following the most recent concussion-based litigations as they proceed through state and federal courts.Just last week in the well-publicized In re National...

Leavitt Pacific in Northern California Name Miller Safety Specialist

Jul 16 2014 // Leavitt Pacific Insurance Brokers in San Jose, Calif. has hired Alex Miller as a safety specialist. Miller will focus on assisting organizations develop effective loss prevention programs. Prior to joining the agency,...

Water Wasters in California Could Be Fined $500 A Day

Jul 16 2014 // In one of the most drastic responses yet to California’s drought, state regulators on Tuesday will consider fines up to $500 a day for people who waste water on landscaping, fountains, washing vehicles and other...

Drought Threatens To Dry Up California Farm Wells

Jul 16 2014 // Farmers in pockets of California hardest hit by the drought could begin to see their wells run dry a year from now if rain and snow remain scarce in the agriculturally rich state, according to a study released...

Heffernan Names Thomas Vice President in Southern California

Jul 15 2014 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has tapped Lawrence Thomas to join its Orange County, Calif. branch as assistant vice president. Thomas will focus on building the nonprofit, entertainment and fashion apparel manufacturing...

Presson Joins Woodruff-Sawyer’s Employee Benefits in California

Jul 15 2014 // San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. named Anne Presson director of benefits innovation. Presson will focus on developing, piloting and implementing new strategies for the employee benefits practice. Prior...

USG Insurance adds Chang in Southern California

Jul 15 2014 // USG Insurance Services Inc. added Perry Chang as producer/broker in its Irvine, Calif. office. Chang most recently held the position of broker at Scottish American. Past positions include vice president of sales at Artisan...

California Commissioner Sued by UnitedHealth Over Fine

Jul 14 2014 // UnitedHealth Group has sued California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to block a $173.6 million fine the insurer incurred for violations during a botched acquisition.The lawsuit was filed last week in Orange County...

Fireman’s Fund in California Names Hunter Loss Prevention Leader

Jul 14 2014 // Novato, Calif.-based Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. named Matt Hunter as national loss prevention leader. Hunter will be based in Southern California and will be a part of the risk services and solutions team focusing...

Levin joins EPIC as a Vice President in Northern California

Jul 14 2014 // Edgewood Partners Insurance Center has added Andrea Levin as a vice president in its Petaluma, Calif. office. Levin will report to Mike Ryan, property/casualty practice principal in the North Bay. Her responsibilities will...

High-Speed Tesla Crash Tests Electric Car Safety

Jul 11 2014 // A man who stole a Tesla Model S on July 4 in Los Angeles died this week from injuries sustained in a high-speed crash that hurt at least seven other people.Joshua Michael Flot, 26, of Inglewood, California, died on July 7...

Report: $100M in Losses from Southern California Quake

Jul 9 2014 // The moderate earthquake that struck Southern California in spring did more damage than people may think – and a bigger quake on that fault could be more devastating than a “big one” on the region’s...

Monticello Fire in California Nearly Contained

Jul 9 2014 // A wildfire that has blazed in a large swath in Northern California for the past five days is now 74 percent contained, according to fire and forestry officials.The Monticello Fire in Yolo County had at one point forced...

USDA Extends California Salmonella Chicken Recall to Bases

Jul 9 2014 // Federal regulators widened the recall of salmonella-tainted chicken produced by California-based Foster Farms to include products believed to have been send to military bases in five states to feed personnel and their...

Chicken Producer, London Insurers Battle Over ‘Recall’ Definition

Jul 9 2014 // Foster Farms and its London insurers are facing off over the definition of “product recall” as the poultry producer seeks payment of $14.2 million in claims arising from a government-mandated shutdown of one of...

Suhr in California Names Tran Employee Benefits Executive

Jul 8 2014 // San Jose, Calif.-based Suhr Risk Services has named Wente Tran an employee benefits account executive. Tran will help develop the firm’s portfolio of regional and national employee benefits accounts. Tran spent the...