Latest California Headlines

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

California Wildfires Have Burned 1M Acres So Far This Year. Heat Wave Poses More Risk

Oct 2 2024 // The total acres burned in California this year surpassed 1 million as spiking temperatures this week added to the challenges facing firefighters struggling to contain a stubborn blaze in the mountains northeast of Los...

University of California Purchases Sensor-Triggered Earthquake Parametric Policy

Oct 2 2024 // What is being called the first sensor-triggered earthquake parametric insurance policy in the U.S. was purchased by The University of California.Liberty Mutual Reinsurance, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, and...

California Governor Vetoes Bill to Create First-in-Nation AI Safety Measures

Oct 1 2024 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models.The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the...

Cruise Gets More Oversight After California Robotaxi Dragging Incident

Oct 1 2024 // General Motors Co.’s robotaxi company will undergo tougher oversight and pay a fine to settle claims by US auto safety regulators that it failed to properly disclose information about a crash involving one of its...

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hit California South of San Francisco

Sep 30 2024 // An earthquake registering magnitude 4.2 shook part of central California early Sunday, the United States Geological Survey confirmed. The earthquake was detected at 2:47 a.m. local time about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers)...

Inszone Acquires ISU Francis-Pinney Insurance Services in California

Sep 30 2024 // Inszone Insurance Services acquired ISU Francis-Pinney Insurance Services Inc. in California. ISU Francis-Pinney Insurance Services evolved through several mergers, including All-Cal Insurance and the John A. Francis...

Inszone Acquires First West Insurance Agency in California

Sep 26 2024 // Inszone Insurance Services acquired First West Insurance Agency in Huntington Beach, California. Originally established in 1968 as Shearer Insurance, the firm merged in 1979 with First West Insurance Agency. Owners Phil...

Passenger Killed When Horse Smashed Through Windshield on California Highway

Sep 26 2024 // The passenger in a car was killed when a horse smashed through the windshield during a series of crashes on a Southern California interstate, authorities said.The first collision occurred about 2 a.m. Sunday when a Toyota...

Critics Say Lawmakers Watered Down California’s ‘Lemon Law’ After Secret Negotiations

Sep 25 2024 // Californians for the past 54 years have relied on the state’s “lemon law” to fight back against car makers that sell them defective vehicles. Now, critics say Californians’ ability to recoup their...

Report: Experts Worry California’s Wildfire Season Could Get Worse

Sep 24 2024 // Despite several early blazes and one of the state’s largest so far, experts worry California’s wildfire season could get worse when the seasonal winds responsible for fanning some of the biggest fires arrive.A...

SURE and SageSure Launch Non-Admitted Business Owners Policy in California

Sep 24 2024 // SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange in partnership with SageSure launched a non-admitted business owners policy in California. The program will service more than 400 business classes across eight industries,...

Environmental Groups, California Sue Exxon Over Global Plastic Pollution

Sep 24 2024 // California and several environmental groups sued Exxon Mobil on Monday and accused the oil giant of engaging in a decades-long campaign that helped fuel global plastic waste pollution.Speaking at an event during Climate...

CAC Group Acquires Media Guarantors in California

Sep 23 2024 // CAC Group acquired Media Guarantors in Hollywood, California. Janet Comenos will assume the role of entertainment practice leader at CAC Group. Fred Milstein, president and CEO of Media Guarantors, will continue to lead...

California Fire Agency Employee Arrested on Suspicion of Starting 5 Blazes

Sep 23 2024 // A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee was arrested on suspicion he started five brush fires in Northern California in recent weeks, officials said.Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested at the Howard...

GM’s Cruise to Begin Testing Autonomous Vehicles in California

Sep 20 2024 // General Motors’ self-driving unit Cruise said on Thursday it will begin supervised testing with up to five autonomous vehicles in fall this year in California’s Bay Area.Cruise will deploy several manual...

California’s Lara Orders 1-Year Moratorium for 750K Residents Following Wildfires

Sep 20 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for 750,000 policyholders affected by the Airport, Bridge, and Line...

California Labor Commissioner Gets $1.7M Settlement in Wingstop Wage Theft Case

Sep 19 2024 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office reached a $1.7 million wage theft settlement for 550 workers in an alleged scheme in which the owner of multiple Wingstop locations in Bakersfield created separate corporate...

Wildfire Risk Upends California’s Cannabis Heartland as Insurance Vanishes

Sep 18 2024 // Hannah Whyte is one of thousands of Californians who have struggled to insure their property in the event of wildfire.Her 77-acre farm nestled deep in a wildfire-vulnerable forest lost its coverage from State Farm after...

California Commissioner, Cal Poly Humboldt Working on Public Wildfire Model

Sep 17 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Cal Poly Humboldt plan to form a strategy group to undertake what Lara says will be the nation’s first public wildfire catastrophe model.The plan is for the group to...

People Moves: Aspire in California Names Rea Chief Technology Officer

Sep 17 2024 // Aspire General Insurance hired Sam Rea as its chief technology officer.Rea has more than 20 years of experience leading IT organizations in the insurance industry. Before joining Aspire, Rea was CTO for the Peak6 InsurTech...