Insurance – North Bay Business Journal - North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties

ProSight scales back plans for larger Santa Rosa office

October 3rd, 2011

ProSight Specialty Insurance has scaled back plans to further expand its presence in Santa Rosa but will still maintain a presence in the area, a spokesman for the company said.
Want something to pass along or sell? You’d better insure it

October 3rd, 2011

Many business owners consider their biggest assets to include tangible items such as: buildings, inventory, vehicles, etc. However, it is the owners and key employees that are the most valuable and impactful to the company’s bottom line. What would happen to the company should an owner employee become disabled, want to retire or have an untimely death? How can you protect your business’s most valuable asset? The answers to these questions must be part of your overall risk management.
Warnings arise of sticker shock in ’12 workers comp costs

October 3rd, 2011

NORTH BAY — The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, the body that oversees and makes recommendations for the workers comp sector, has officially recommended a 1.8 percent decrease in pure premium rates beginning in 2012.
Kaiser survey shows 9% jump in health premiums

September 28th, 2011

NORTH BAY — Health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored coverage increased by 9 percent this year, with the average annual cost of family coverage rising to more than $15,000, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research Education and Trust. The increase is steep and comes after several years of “relatively modest” [...]
People: Week of Sept. 26, 2011

September 26th, 2011

Brief news about professionals in the north San Francisco Bay area.
Fireman’s Fund names new CFO

September 19th, 2011

NOVATO — Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company named Kevin Walker as its new chief financial officer and newest member of its board of directors.
Partnership HealthPlan expands to Marin, Mendocino counties

September 12th, 2011

FAIRFIELD — Partnership HealthPlan of California expanded its reach into Marin and Mendocino counties, giving the nonprofit managed Medi-Cal plan some 38,000 additional Medi-Cal enrollees.
Fast growing companies: Changes, innovation in health care driving growth

September 5th, 2011

As the health care landscape across the North Bay — indeed, across much of the country — undergoes rapid transformation, many organizations are already growing in anticipation of the changes that lay ahead. … The Marin-Sonoma IPA changed its name as a reflection of its growth further into Sonoma County — when earlier this spring it grew from some 300 physicians to nearly 500 in a matter of months. … Another fast-growing side of health care is the vast world of biotech. And North Bay companies are no exception from this growing trend: Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, BioMarin Pharmaceutical. … The Doctors Company, a Napa-based physician and medical liability insurer, increased its nationwide membership by 27 percent this year when it acquired FPIC Insurance Group, a major publicly-traded medical insurance group based in Florida.
Healdsburg, Sebastopol hospital districts to appeal Sutter ruling

August 29th, 2011

SANTA ROSA — Two Sonoma County health care districts say they plan on appealing a recent court ruling that mostly sided with Sutter Health over objections to Sutter’s new $284 million hospital, now under construction just north of Santa Rosa.
Q&A: Walt Mickens, Queen of the Valley: Hospital looks to future in midst of $130 million project

August 29th, 2011

NAPA – Queen of the Valley Medical Center, the largest hospital in Napa County and the largest private employer, is facing a multitude of challenges – like all hospitals – as much of the health care industry undergoes significant change.
Kaiser administration in San Rafael to relocate

August 25th, 2011

SAN RAFAEL – Kaiser Permanente’s San Rafael Administration team will soon relocate from its existing location at 1600 Los Gamos Road, crossing over Highway 101 to 100 Smith Ranch Rd., where it has leased nearly 25,000 square feet of space.
Insurance veteran McKnight joins EPIC

August 22nd, 2011

PETALUMA — Edgewood Partners Insurance Center has brought on long-time Santa Rosa employee benefits consultant Victor McKnight as a principal in the Petaluma office. Mr. McKnight’s landing at EPIC comes barely two weeks after EPIC relocated to a bigger location in Petaluma and just over a year after its arrival in the North Bay.
Winery health insurance costs rise 12 percent

August 22nd, 2011

NOVATO — Wineries across the North Bay experienced roughly a 12 percent cost increase in their employees’ health plans this past year, a figure that is commensurate with other industries but one that runs counter to last year’s results, according to a new survey.
New health center facilities open in Petaluma, Forestville

August 22nd, 2011

SONOMA COUNTY — Two of Sonoma County’s federally qualified health centers celebrated grand openings this month. Another announced the award of federal funds to expand services, while a broader coalition of such centers held a conference highlighting the services they provide, even amid the threat of diminishing public funds.
EPIC insurance expanding offices in Petaluma

August 8th, 2011

PETALUMA — After barely a year in the North Bay, Edgewood Partners Insurance Center will relocate from the Petaluma Marina Business Center to a larger space to accommodate its growth over the past year while establishing a permanent location at 5350 Old Redwood Highway.
Palm Drive hires consultants to help with affiliation talks

August 8th, 2011

SEBASTOPOL – Palm Drive Hospital has brought on two well-known health care veterans to help the 37-bed facility chart its course through affiliation talks with larger health care organizations, a move most view as key to its financial stability. The Palm Drive Healthcare District Board of Directors unanimously agreed to bring on Walter Kopp, a [...]
Jobs networking group off to strong start

August 8th, 2011

SANTA ROSA – Greg Jones, founder of the new North Bay Networking Group, got a pleasant surprise at the group’s first event last week. It was packed. “We expected about 40 attendees,” said the former State Farm recruitment executive, who wants to help his laid-off colleagues and other jobseekers connect with employers. “We got 150 people, including recruiters from a number of local companies. It was a very positive event, resulting in jobs for several and an uplift in spirits for us all.”
Business News: Week of Aug. 1, 2011

August 1st, 2011

Short news items about businesses in the north San Francisco Bay area
Business Journal Q&A: Dr. Jeff Sugarman, President, Sonoma County Medical Assoication

July 25th, 2011

SONOMA COUNTY — The Sonoma County Medical Association recently named Jeff Sugarman as its new president, a position that he will hold for the next year. He recently shared with the Business Journal some his main priories as the new president of the SCMA, as well as his thoughts on a wide range of health care issues in Sonoma County — from access to specialty care, the new health care reform law and the increasing challenges of physicians in private practice, among others.
Regional Access Plan in early talks on HMO for businesses

July 11th, 2011

SONOMA COUNTY — Members of a regional effort to create a strong network of physicians across the North Bay are in early talks with a Sacramento-based health maintenance organization about forming an insurance product around the nearly 500-member physician network, with the possible goal of offering a commercial health plan to employers.