Farmers Insurance Group Inc

California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Thursday accused Farmers Insurance Group Inc. of illegally planning to raise deductibles on earthquake insurance by 25% without prior approval. Garamendi ordered Farmers to explain itself before him on Sept. 6. Afterward, he said, he will decide whether to issue a cease-and-desist order. "In declaring its intention to only renew earthquake insurance policies with 25% deductibles, the Farmers Cos.

California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Thursday accused Farmers Insurance Group Inc. of illegally planning to raise deductibles on earthquake insurance by 25% without prior approval. Garamendi ordered Farmers to explain itself before him on Sept. 6. Afterward, he said, he will decide whether to issue a cease-and-desist order. "In declaring its intention to only renew earthquake insurance policies with 25% deductibles, the Farmers Cos.

BAT Industries PLC, the British conglomerate fighting a takeover bid from Sir James Goldsmith's Hoylake Investments Ltd., today reported a 38% jump in profits during 1989. The results were helped by record earnings from the group's tobacco interests and a near doubling of profits at its financial services division. BAT said last year's net income totaled $2.07 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in 1988. The latest results included a $197-million one-time gain from restructurings.

* Richard H. Savage, chairman of the board for Amwest Insurance Group Inc., has become chairman emeritus. Charles L. Schultz, a director of the company since 1995 and formerly senior vice president and chief financial officer of Farmers Insurance Group Inc., has been elected chairman of the board and interim chief executive. Chief Executive and President John E. Savage has become vice chairman of the board.

A federal judge has told Farmers Insurance Group Inc., the third-largest U.S. home and auto insurer, to pay $52.5 million to claims adjusters who say they were denied overtime pay. U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones in Portland, Ore., ruled Monday that Farmers, a unit of Zurich Financial Services of Zurich, Switzerland, must pay damages averaging about $50,000 to each of the 1,039 adjusters in seven states, said N. Robert Stoll, a lawyer for the adjusters.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury has ordered Farmers Insurance Group Inc. to pay $9.9 million to two women for failing to defend them when a neighbor was injured by a garage door at their condominium complex. Retirees Linda Williams, now 65, and B.J. Walker, 80, who share a Los Angeles condo, were sued by neighbor Juanita Wasson after she fell in front of their garage in 2001 and suffered a broken hip.

Countrywide Financial Corp. has agreed to a $30-million settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the home loan giant failed to pay overtime to 400 employees at its Southern California call centers. The deal, tentatively approved last month by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victor Person, is the latest multimillion-dollar payout in a wave of white-collar compensation suits in California, where laws governing overtime pay are tougher than in other states.

A Thousand Oaks hospital has agreed to pay $4.75 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of miscalculating overtime and not compensating hourly workers for missed rest periods and lunch breaks. The settlement by Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center will result in payments ranging from $100 to more than $25,000 to 1,116 current and former employees who worked there from October 1999 through July 2004.

An investor group including corporate raider Sir James Goldsmith today launched a surprise $21-billion offer for BAT Industries PLC in what would be Britain's biggest-ever takeover. BAT immediately rejected the bid, which if successful would put British takeovers into the big league, second in size to last year's record $25-billion buyout of RJR Nabisco Inc. by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

The management of Saks Fifth Avenue today announced that in partnership with a major Japanese retailing company it has offered to buy the upscale department store chain from its London-based parent BAT Industries PLC. Terms of the proposal were not disclosed. Saks management said in a news release that the bid is fully financed. Retail industry analysts have said the 46 Saks luxury department stores would fetch a price equal to the chain's annual sales, which totaled about $1.3 billion in 1989.