SAN FRANCISCO-The city of San Francisco has issued guidelines for its new Paid Sick Leave Ordinance that take effect Tuesday.

The ordinance, passed by voters in November, requires all employers in the city to provide employees with at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees can begin accruing sick leave beginning 90 days after the start of employment.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner unveiled a workers' compensation reform package this past week. The reforms follow what the commissioner termed "an extensive analysis of the workers' compensation system" and the March hearing at which the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) submitted its rate filing to the Department of Insurance (CDI). The package includes four elements: improving workplace safety; reducing rates; improving rate forecasting accuracy; and, promoting expansion in the workers' compensation market. The commissioner has issued an order to the WCIRB to address the four aspects of his reform package.

Most U.S. companies purchased terrorism risk insurance last year despite increasing costs for the coverage, according to a new report.

A total of 59% of companies purchased or renewed their property terrorism insurance coverage in 2006, up from 58% in 2005 and 27% in 2003, according to a report by New York-based Marsh Inc.

How liability insurers respond to climate-change challenges that policyholders face likely will "be key to the ultimate success of society's overall response" to the issue, contends a study by an environmental consultant, a government scientist and an environmental law expert.

Insured property damage caused by extreme weather events has been the more widely discussed effect of climate change, note the authors of the 84-page study, "Limiting Liability in the Greenhouse: Insurance Risk-Management Strategies in the Context of Global Climate Change."

SACRAMENTO, CA - Today California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order to help individuals who have suffered losses in the Angora Wildfire near Lake Tahoe. The executive order assists victims by waiving fees and assisting in the replacement of state documents, including vehicle registrations, driver's licenses and birth certificates.