California’s landlords see rising insurance costs, so they say they’re going to have to raise rents. But they complain about laws that limit how much they can do so.
Levi Sumagaysay / CalMatters
Posted inBusiness & Technology
California gig worker law withstands challenge from Uber in federal appeals court
A 2020 California law compels businesses to offer employment benefits to more workers rather than treating them like independent contractors. Uber lost an effort to overturn the law with a ruling Monday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom unveils plan that would hasten insurance-rate reviews — and increases
A proposal to fix California’s insurance crisis would require the insurance department to process requests from insurers more quickly. But that could end with a lot of rate increases for consumers.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
California Supreme Court appears hesitant to overrule voters on gig worker law
California Supreme Court justices appear poised to uphold Proposition 22, a voter-backed initiative passed in 2020. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other companies have used the law to treat their drivers and delivery workers in California as independent contractors, not as employees.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Californians are protecting themselves from wildfire. Why is there still an insurance crisis?
As some insurance companies, citing growing risks and costs, have paused or stopped writing new policies in California, lawmakers want mitigation measures to be tracked, updated and accounted for to help insurance availability and affordability.
Posted inLatest News
California insurance chief, Farmers CEO ‘look outside’ for answers to insurance crisis
Government officials, insurance industry representatives, nonprofits and academics from around the nation and world gathered in Los Angeles for a summit this week — in a state where residents are dealing with higher premiums for homeowners and auto insurance, with some of them finding it tough to get insured at all. That includes nearly 4,300 Santa Cruz County residents who learned recently that State Farm was not renewing their home insurance policies.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California insurance market ‘in chaos,’ says former insurance chief. Can the new chief fix it?
Insurance non-renewals continue even as Commissioner Ricardo Lara introduces regulations favored by the industry.
Posted inHousing & Development
Tech-billionaire promises for a new city, from roads to water, are worth hundreds of millions of dollars — if they’re binding
California Forever CEO Jan Sramek says promises of new homes, jobs, investments are binding, but legal experts and elected officials are skeptical.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
350,000 Californians are now on the FAIR Plan, the last resort for fire insurance. Now what?
As the FAIR Plan writes more fire-insurance policies, homeowners complain about poor service, rising costs and threats of getting kicked off.
Posted inLatest News
‘Prompt action’ on fire insurance has yet to help California homeowners
While state regulators craft new regulations and consult with the insurance industry, many Californians are paying extra-high premiums — or going without insurance entirely.