Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Top 10 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2019: U.S. Chamber

Dec 18 2019 // A lawsuit over the tiny amount of lip balm at the bottom of the tube came in number one on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s list of the Top 10 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of 2019. This year’s list also features...

Hotel Chains Sued for Ignoring Warning Signs of Sex Trafficking on Premises

Dec 18 2019 // Landmark U.S. legal action was filed last Monday (Dec. 9) accusing several major hotel groups of profiting from sex trafficking on behalf of 13 women who claimed they were sold for sex in hotel rooms. Twelve hotel chains...

Judge Rules U.S. Army Engineers May Be Liable for Hurricane Harvey Floods

Dec 17 2019 // Hundreds of Houston homeowners near U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-managed reservoirs may receive compensation for flooding of their properties during 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The U.S....

Florida City Faces $1M Ransom by Hackers

Dec 17 2019 // A Florida city confirmed Friday that hackers seeking to extort money were responsible for crippling its computer systems earlier this week but officials have yet to decide whether they will pay a reported $1 million...

Government Spending Bill Includes Flood, TRIA Renewals and Obamacare Taxes Repeal

Dec 17 2019 // Congress is planning to use a $1.4 trillion package of two must-pass spending bills to repeal Obamacare taxes, raise the age for tobacco purchases to 21 and extend the U.S. Export-Import Bank for seven years, according to...

Bayer Asks Appeals Court to Toss $25 Million Roundup Cancer Verdict

Dec 17 2019 // Bayer AG on Monday said it has asked a U.S. federal appeals court to throw out a $25 million judgment it was ordered to pay to a California man who blamed the company’s Roundup weed killer for his cancer. In a filing...

Bermuda Gains Reciprocal Status With U.S. Starting in 2020

Dec 16 2019 // Bermuda’s insurance market gains reciprocal status with the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2020, something that industry and business groups there are celebrating as they countdown to the new year. Reciprocal status will make...

Federal Safety Agency Starts 12th Probe Into Tesla Crashes

Dec 16 2019 // The U.S. auto safety agency said on Friday it will investigate a 12th Tesla crash that may be tied to the vehicle’s advanced Autopilot driver assistance system after a Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a parked police car in...

Commercial Insurance Market Stable in 2020: A.M. Best

Dec 16 2019 // The market outlook on the U.S. commercial lines industry for 2020 is stable. according to analysts at ratings firm A.M. Best who cite “improved market conditions and solid levels of risk-adjusted capitalization that...

Fitch Sees Strong Revenue Growth for U.S. Public Insurance Brokers

Dec 16 2019 // Publicly traded U.S. insurance brokers are expected to produce strong revenue growth for 2020 given near peak level organic growth and favorable U.S. commercial lines insurance pricing trends. Further, margins remain...

U.S. Commercial Insurance Prices Were Up 4% in Q3: WTW

Dec 16 2019 // U.S. commercial insurance prices accelerated during the third quarter of 2019, as the aggregate price change reported by carriers exceeded 4%, according to insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. WTS’s Commercial...

U.S.- China Phase One Trade Pact Promises Improved IP Protections, Insurance Markets Access

Dec 15 2019 // The United States and China have agreed on the terms of a “phase one” trade deal that reduces some U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods while boosting Chinese purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods...

FCC Votes to Split Safety Spectrum with Telecoms Over Transportation Chief’s Warning

Dec 13 2019 // The U.S. telecommunications regulator voted on Thursday to advance a plan to split a key spectrum block set aside for auto safety to accommodate the burgeoning number of wireless devices, but the Transportation Secretary...

Probe Finds Intercontinental Terminals Fire Near Houston Began with Broken Manifold

Dec 13 2019 // A March fire at a petrochemical terminal that spread a blanket of black smoke across Houston began when part of a manifold, which includes a pump and motor, on one storage tank broke, according to a report by local and...

Ping An’s OneConnect Raises $312 Million in Expanded U.S. IPO

Dec 12 2019 // China-based cloud fintech platform OneConnect Financial Technology Co. expanded its U.S. initial public offering to raise $312 million, partly reversing cuts to its share-sale plans disclosed one day ago. The company, one...

Supreme Court Lets Stand American Family Ruling Agents Are Independent Contractors

Dec 12 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal brought by insurance agents of American Family Insurance Co. who have claimed they were wrongly classified as independent contractors and denied benefits. The...

Can Historic Towns Along Southeast Coast Endure Sea Rise?

Dec 12 2019 // Historic cities and towns along the Southeastern U.S. coast have survived wars, hurricanes, disease outbreaks and other calamities, but now that sea levels are creeping up with no sign of stopping, they face a more...

Southeast Insurance Chiefs Farmer, Altmaier Elected to Top NAIC Posts

Dec 11 2019 // South Carolina Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer and Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier have been elected to the positions of president and president-elect, respectively, of the NAIC (National...

BMS Re Revamps U.S. Reinsurance Management; Appoints Chandler President and CEO

Dec 11 2019 // Reinsurance broker BMS Group announced a series of management changes within its U.S. reinsurance team as the intermediary continues its expansion. This follows the completion in October of a large-scale investment into...

Boeing 737 MAX Planes to Remain Grounded Rest of This Year: FAA

Dec 11 2019 // Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson confirmed Wednesday the agency will not allow Boeing Co.’s grounded 737 MAX, involved in two fatal crashes in five months, to resume flying before the end of...