Latest USA Headlines

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

U.S. Judge Finds No Liability for European Banks in Iran Terrorism Financing

Apr 1 2019 // A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to hold nine large European banks liable for allegedly providing banking services to Iran that enabled militants to conduct 55 attacks against U.S. armed forces in neighboring...

1 Million Acres of Midwest Farmlands Flooded as Corn Planting Deadlines Approach

Apr 1 2019 // At least 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) of U.S. farmland were flooded after the “bomb cyclone” storm left wide swaths of nine major grain producing states under water this month, satellite data analyzed by...

How Disasters, Tax Reform Affected P/C Insurers’ Performance in 2018

Apr 1 2019 // Mainly due to above-average catastrophe losses, the aggregate financial performance of U.S. publicly traded property/casualty insurers deteriorated slightly in 2018, according to a new A.M. Best special report. The...

Insurance Industry Facing Competitive Labor Market

Apr 1 2019 // Like other industries today, the property/casualty insurance industry is facing a highly competitive job market as it strives to fill positions needed to grow. The unemployment rate for the insurance industry is 1.7...

Insurers Cautious About Marijuana Insurance Market

Apr 1 2019 // The marijuana industry is an opportunity for insurers as more states have legalized the drug. But there are still risks in play that could limit wider carrier participation, A.M. Best said in a new report, “Cannabis:...

People

Apr 1 2019 // National Ironshore Specialty Casualty has appointed Casey Hartley as senior vice president and head of programs. She will oversee the development, marketing and distribution of programs lines, working with programs...

Today’s Hot Markets

Apr 1 2019 // Telemedicine, Breweries, Intellectual property, Nurseries and Cottage foods Insurance Journal examined industries experiencing changes, challenges, expansions and growth in the past year. Here are five industry sectors and...

AIG Exits Individual Personal Lines Business in Canada

Mar 29 2019 // American International Group (AIG) has decided to stop underwriting new policies in its individual personal insurance lines of business in Canada, namely auto and homeowners. “We continually review our operations to...

Judge Allows Suit Over Nestle Claim Its Poland Spring Water Is From Natural Spring

Mar 29 2019 // A federal judge on Thursday rejected Nestle SA’s bid to dismiss a revised lawsuit claiming that it defrauded consumers by filling bottles of its Poland Spring water with ordinary groundwater. U.S. District Judge...

Duke University to Settle Whistleblower Suit Over Faked-Research for $112M

Mar 29 2019 // Duke University will pay $112 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit after federal prosecutors said a research technician’s fake data landed millions of dollars in federal grants, the school and the government...

Final Four a ‘Big-Ticket’ for Insurers Covering NCAA Tournament

Mar 29 2019 // If the NCAA’s Final Four basketball games were to be cancelled or postponed for any reason, that would be really, really bad news, not only for the collegiate sports association and fans but also for the panel of...

Court Rules Dating App Not Liable for Harassing Content

Mar 29 2019 // A U.S. federal appeals court refused to hold Grindr liable to a New York man who said his former boyfriend used the gay dating app to post fake profiles, in a harassment campaign that caused more than 1,000 men to approach...

Storage Tank Owner Sued by State, County Over Texas Petrochemical Fire

Mar 28 2019 // Texas officials on Tuesday sued owners of a Houston area petrochemical storage facility over a fire last week, alleging violations of environmental laws and seeking damages to cover response costs for the disaster that...

Supreme Court May Overturn Tradition of Courts Deferring to Regulatory Agencies

Mar 28 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices expressed doubts about a precedent that business groups and the Trump administration say gives federal agencies too much power to change regulations without notice. In...

China Pledges Expanded Market Access for Foreign Investors in Banking, Insurance

Mar 28 2019 // China will sharply expand market access for foreign banks and securities and insurance companies, especially in its financial services sector, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, as senior U.S. officials arrived in...

How One Company, AT&T, Is Using Models to Prepare for Natural Disaster Costs

Mar 28 2019 // By 2050, residents of southern Florida could become familiar with storms borne on 90-mph winds. Water levels during floods will rise by an average of 5 percent across the Southeast. And it will not be out of the ordinary...

Bayer Must Pay $80 Million in Monsanto Roundup Cancer Trial, Says Jury

Mar 27 2019 // A U.S. jury on Wednesday awarded $80 million to a man who claimed his use of Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup caused his cancer, in the latest legal setback for the company facing thousands of similar...

UPS, Drone Maker Kick Off U.S. Commercial Flights in North Carolina

Mar 27 2019 // United Parcel Service Inc. and a startup drone partner began the first continuing commercial drone deliveries in the U.S., making a short flight carrying a medical sample between North Carolina hospitals on Tuesday. The...

Environmental, Economic Damage a Concern Following Texas Petrochemical Fire

Mar 27 2019 // Businesses and residents expressed concern on March 25 about the environmental and economic fallout from a fire at a Houston-area petrochemical storage farm that sent huge plumes into the air for days and prompted the...

Natural Disasters Drive £1 Billion (US$1.3 Billion) Loss at Lloyd’s During 2018

Mar 27 2019 // Lloyd’s of London reported a £1 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) loss for 2018, attributed to an above-average number of major natural catastrophes such Hurricanes Florence and Michael, Typhoon Jebi in Japan, as well as...