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Another major insurer is pulling back on its offerings in California, forcing tens of thousands of customers to find other options. SafeCo, a subsidiary of California’s fourth-largest home insurer, Liberty Mutual, has announced that it will stop offering policies for new rental and condo customers on January 1, 2025. Existing customers will be able to keep their current policies until 2026.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack? Not in sections 311 and 312 at Safeco Field on Aug. 5 and Sept. 9. Those will be peanut-controlled zones on those days, the Mariners announced this week, cleaned thoroughly the night before and all peanut products will be banned on those games. Peanut products will not be sold at nearby concession stands. Tickets will be $10 each for those days.

In an era when political tawdriness is so commonplace that much misbehavior barely elicits shrugs, it takes a truly audacious act to make jaws drop. Congratulations are thus in order for Juan Vargas for doing something that stuns even jaded political junkies. On Monday – the same day Vargas' Assembly successor was sworn in – the San Diego Democrat and longtime chairman of the Assembly Insurance Committee became vice president of California external affairs for Safeco, a big Seattle-based insurance company that hopes to expand aggressively in California. This by itself is outrageous, but it becomes far more so when...

A prominent Seattle lawyer and a scion of a prominent Seattle family are suing a prominent politician -- U.S. Senate candidate Mike McGavick -- over his lucrative retirement package from a prominent Seattle company, Safeco. The intriguing cast of characters came together Tuesday in a shareholder lawsuit, heavy with political overtones, against Safeco's board of directors and McGavick, a Republican who was its chief executive. It was filed in federal court in Seattle. The complaint said Safeco paid the candidate $28.4 million in early 2006 in an illegal "waste of corporate assets" after he resigned to run against Democratic Sen....

Progressive's growth continues to slowBy Alistair Barr, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 11:38 AM ET Jan. 20, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Progressive Corp., the third-largest auto insurer in the United States, said Thursday that premium growth slowed in December compared with the previous month, continuing a trend that began last year. Progressive (PGR: news, chart, profile) , which reports results monthly, said net written premiums came in at $1.14 billion in December. Excluding an extra week that the insurer included in its December results, net written premium growth was 5 percent last month compared with December 2003, the company said....

By John Berlau © 2004 Insight/News World Communications Inc. Though President Bush constantly is criticized and attacked by Democratic partisans for pursuing policies that benefit "the wealthy," why are so many of what would be considered America's superrich his political opponents? In addition to the Hollywood mega-elite, which since the death of Sam Goldwyn have opposed the GOP mainly for cultural reasons, billionaire businessmen have stepped forward calling for the defeat of Bush or his policies. Most prominent has been speculator George Soros, who has pledged to raise $75 million to defeat Bush, given millions to Democratic Bush-bashing groups such...

Nancy Errera, who has helped run her family's gun shop for many years, and has been insured by Safeco Insurance for several years, received this notice recently with a Non-renewal form letter. The non-renewal was on a form letter with no names, phone numbers, etc. and the reasons were inserted. Reasons: "Your ownership of a gunshop, lobbying activities regarding gun control, and involvement in organizing "shoots" represent an increased liability exposure." Nancy has this to say: Safeco is passing judgement on a subject about which they obviously know nothing. My ladies' shoots are for the purpose of teaching handgun safety...

Pat McCarrell Seattle insurance company Safeco Corp. said it is seeking a buyer for its life and investments business to focus on the more profitable property and casualty lines. The company also said it will eliminate "at least 500 positions" by the end of 2004 from the operations that won't be sold. The life and investments business represents about $2 billion of Safeco's $7 billion in revenue last year, and generated pretax operating earnings of $237 million. The unit's assets were $23.2 billion, and its mutual fund assets under management were $4 billion at the end of the second quarter...

SEATTLE -- Police and firefighters responded to a hazardous material scare at Safeco Field after a low-flying airplane dropped a box of powder on the Seattle ballpark. Police spokesman Duane Fish says the powder was determined to be the cremated remains of a person who had requested that the ashes be scattered there. Fire Lieutenant Harold Webb says a box carrying the ashes hit the roof of Safeco Field shortly after ten o'clock. He says the haz-mat crew wasn't sure about the powder until they heard through the F-A-A what the pilot was doing. The incident was over in about...