Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
People – Southeast
Mar 7 2016 // Risk Strategies Company, a privately held national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has expanded its nationwide Private Risk Management (PRM) practice with the hiring of Carol Wiek as vice president, private...
USDA Expands Crop Insurance Options for Organic Farmers
Mar 7 2016 // In mid-February, federal agriculture officials announced an expansion of crop insurance options to better serve farmers transitioning to certified organic production. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the expanded...
California’s Porter Ranch Blowout Highlights Evacuation Risk
Mar 7 2016 // Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series on the oil and gas industry. The first article covered the important changes that occurred in 2015 and the significance of the Porter Ranch, Calif., blowout that...
People – East
Mar 7 2016 // Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has hired Edith Quintrell as its U.S.-based underwriting development director for its Global Financial Risks division. Quintrell previously was...
Munich Re’s Vasturia to Serve as IICF Chairman
Mar 4 2016 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has named John Vasturia, president of Specialty Markets for Munich Reinsurance America Inc., as chairman for IICF’s board of governors. Vasturia has been a member...
Liberty Mutual Profit Fell 70% in 2015
Mar 4 2016 // Liberty Mutual Insurance saw profits fall for the fourth quarter and full year 2015 due to higher catastrophe and energy-related losses. Parent Liberty Mutual Holding Co. booked $411 million in net income in Q4, a nearly...
U.S. Treasury Seeks Terrorism Data from Insurers
Mar 4 2016 // The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is requesting that insurers voluntarily submit insurance data regarding their participation in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP). The...
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Beazley’s Lloyd’s Syndicates & US Insurer
Mar 4 2016 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings of “a+” of Beazley’s Lloyd’s Syndicates Syndicates 2623, 623, 3623 and 3622. The outlook for all...
Hedge Funds Leery of Moves to Limit U.S. Reinsurance Tax Break
Mar 3 2016 // Dan Loeb’s reinsurer cited risks tied to regulation as the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden work to limit what the lawmaker called a “tax loophole” used by hedge fund managers to route...
Why Small Commercial Lines May Not Be So Bright for Agency Carriers
Mar 3 2016 // As more small business owners become comfortable buying everything including insurance online, exclusive agent carriers will gain an advantage over independent agency carriers in the highly-fragmented and increasingly...
Former VW CEO Was Alerted to Problems with US Diesel Emissions Tests in 2014
Mar 3 2016 // Volkswagen’s former chief executive officer was alerted to problems with U.S. diesel emissions tests in 2014, but the issue “did not initially receive particular attention at the management levels,” the...
Timeline: Workplace Shootings in U.S. Over Past 5 Years
Mar 3 2016 // On Feb. 25, 15 people at a Kansas factory were shot, three of them killed, by a co-worker whom police say had also shot two other people as he drove toward the facility. The shooting at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas,...
U.S. Top Court Rules Against Vermont’s Healthcare Data Law
Mar 2 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Vermont cannot compel health insurers to hand over data on the amount paid on medical claims, backing Liberty Mutual Insurance Co’s contention that federal law prohibited...
Hospitals Say Anthem-Cigna Merger Will Empower Blue Cross, Hurt Consumers
Mar 2 2016 // U.S. hospitals are stepping up their bid to stop Anthem Inc.’s takeover of rival health insurer Cigna Corp., saying the deal will increase the dominance of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and potentially raise premiums...
Jury Finds 2 N.Y. Stockbrokers Liable in IBM Insider Trading Trial
Mar 1 2016 // A federal jury on Monday found two former New York stockbrokers liable for trading on confidential tips about an IBM Corp acquisition, despite a major appeals court ruling that made insider trading cases harder to...
Supreme Court Blocks States from Collecting Self-Insurers’ Health Cost Data
Mar 1 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Vermont cannot compel health insurers to hand over data on the amount paid on medical claims, backing Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.’s contention that federal law prohibited...
Iran Oil Shipping Insurance Issues Will Take 2-3 Months to Resolve: Tanker Firm
Mar 1 2016 // Frontline, one of the world’s largest independent tanker firms, says securing insurance for cargoes carrying oil from Iran is likely to take another two to three months, potentially limiting Iran’s ability to...
U.S. Regulator Treads Lightly on Railroads Over Hazmat Violations: Report
Mar 1 2016 // Federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil and other hazardous cargo for criminal prosecution, and are going lightly on civil fines, according to a...
G20 Puts ‘Brexit’ on List of Top Global Risks After Push by UK Government
Feb 29 2016 // British finance minister George Osborne pushed financial leaders from the top 20 economies to include the risk of Britain leaving the European Union in their list of dangers to the world economy on Saturday, gaining...
XL Group Proposes Moving Domicile to Bermuda from Ireland
Feb 29 2016 // XL Group plc announced a proposal to change its parent holding company’s place of incorporation to Bermuda from Ireland. “Establishing our corporate home in Bermuda is a natural step for XL. XL has had a...
