What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied; original findings by the workers’ compensation arbitrator upheld.p. 9
Petition for Reconsideration filed by State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company seeking amendment of findings regarding workers' compensation coverage and reimbursement from Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London; petition denied by the WCAB panel.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The WCAB found that the Underwriters policy did not provide workers’ compensation coverage because State Farm had valid and collectible workers’ compensation insurance, and denied State Farm’s request for equitable contribution from Underwriters.
From the decision · page 4ckee residence as per her direction so that they could act in their capacity as domestic help at her Truckee residence. Issues set for determination at arbitration included whether Underwriters’ policy provided coverage for bodily injury/death; whether Underwriters’ policy provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage pursuant to Insurance Code section 11590; and if workers’ compensation insurance coverage was provided pursuant to Insurance Code section 11590, whether there existed other valid collectible workers compensation insurance coverage such that Underwriters’ coverage would not apply, or whether Underwriters would nonetheless be excluded from coverage because of the Motor Vehicle Exclusion included in said policy.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
State Farm had existing, valid and collectible workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the Temecula residence on the date of injury.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This coverage excludes the Underwriters policy from applying under Insurance Code section 11590.
From the decision · page 5coverage; on March 30, 2018, decedents were employed and paid by Petersen as domestic help and were transporting her work vehicle, which was registered to a company owned by her (National Merchants Association), from her Temecula residence to her Truckee residence as per her direction so that they could act in their capacity as domestic help at her Truckee residence. Based upon these stipulations and findings, the WCA determined that although the Underwriters policy would be “construed as if there were a provision of [workers’ compensation] coverage” per Insurance Code section 11590, “since State Farm has existing[,] valid and collectible, workers’ compensation insurance,” the Underwriters policy “shall not apply.” It is from these Findings of Fact that State Farm seeks reconsideration.
Decedents were employed by Heather Dawn Petersen at her residences in Temecula and Truckee and sustained injuries arising out of and in the course of employment on March 30, 2018.
Favours neutral
Establishes compensable injury and employment relationship relevant to coverage determination.
From the decision · page 1Defendant, State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company (State Farm), seeks reconsideration of the “Opinion and Award” 1 (Findings of Fact) issued on June 2, 2026, by the workers’ compensation arbitrator (WCA) wherein the parties stipulated and the WCA found, in relevant part, that while employed on March 30 2018, decedents sustained injuries arising out of and occurring in the course of their employment (AOE/COE) resulting in their deaths; at the time of the said injuries/deaths, decedents were employed by homeowner Heather Dawn Petersen at her residences in Temecula and Truckee, California; on March 30, 2018, the Temecula residence was insured by State Farm and the policy provided valid and collectible workers’ compensation coverage for the injuries/deaths; the Truckee residence was insured by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London (Underwriters) and said policy was for liability insurance, which provided
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Insurance Code section 11590
Insurance Code section 11590
The policy with valid and collectible workers’ compensation insurance coverage is liable for the injury, excluding other policies without such coverage.
From the decision · page 4ckee residence as per her direction so that they could act in their capacity as domestic help at her Truckee residence. Issues set for determination at arbitration included whether Underwriters’ policy provided coverage for bodily injury/death; whether Underwriters’ policy provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage pursuant to Insurance Code section 11590; and if workers’ compensation insurance coverage was provided pursuant to Insurance Code section 11590, whether there existed other valid collectible workers compensation insurance coverage such that Underwriters’ coverage would not apply, or whether Underwriters would nonetheless be excluded from coverage because of the Motor Vehicle Exclusion included in said policy.
Labor Code section 5275
Labor Code section 5275
Coverage issues are subject to mandatory arbitration under this section.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
stipulated facts and accepted findings by the WCA regarding employment, injury, and insurance coverage
From the decision · page 1Defendant, State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company (State Farm), seeks reconsideration of the “Opinion and Award” 1 (Findings of Fact) issued on June 2, 2026, by the workers’ compensation arbitrator (WCA) wherein the parties stipulated and the WCA found, in relevant part, that while employed on March 30 2018, decedents sustained injuries arising out of and occurring in the course of their employment (AOE/COE) resulting in their deaths; at the time of the said injuries/deaths, decedents were employed by homeowner Heather Dawn Petersen at her residences in Temecula and Truckee, California; on March 30, 2018, the Temecula residence was insured by State Farm and the policy provided valid and collectible workers’ compensation coverage for the injuries/deaths; the Truckee residence was insured by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London (Underwriters) and said policy was for liability insurance, which provided
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
- Issues, outcomes and weights were extracted by AI and released only where the source passage checked. Read the official decision before relying on anything here. Not legal advice.
- If you are named in this decision and want this page removed, write to privacy@similarcase.com.