Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Bill in California Would Insure People In U.S. Illegally
Feb 18 2014 // Immigrants living in the country illegally would be able to buy health insurance through the state of California under a bill introduced by a state senator. Only U.S. citizens can buy policies under the Affordable Care Act...
Canadian Pacific Follows CN; Will Impose Surcharge on Older Oil Tank Cars
Feb 18 2014 // Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd is slapping a surcharge on customers who transport crude in older tank cars, following its larger rival in seeking to deter shippers from using the model involved in a series of fiery...
AIA Testifies on Challenges to U.S. Insurers in India
Feb 18 2014 // Stephen Simchak, director of international affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA), testified about trade and investment barriers that U.S. property-casualty insurers face in India at a public hearing before...
England Floods, U.S. Freezes so Blame Indonesia: Bloomberg’s Marc Champion
Feb 17 2014 // The U.S. is freezing and the U.K. is flooded. Clearly, Indonesia is at fault. That, in any case, is my layman’s interpretation of a report this week from the U.K.’s meteorological agency, the Met Office. It...
In Penn., ACA Exchange Sign-Ups Top 100K Mark as Website Troubles Subside
Feb 14 2014 // More than 123,000 Pennsylvanians have selected an insurance plan under the new federal health care law as troubles with the gateway website have subsided, the U.S. government said Wednesday, although tens of thousands more...
Federal Judge: Virginia’s Gay-Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
Feb 14 2014 // Virginia’s ban on gay marriage was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge who said it violated the equal-protection rights of the state’s residents including couples married legally in other states. The...
Federal Appeals Court: U.S. Has Jurisdiction in Chinese Drywall Suits
Feb 13 2014 // U.S. courts have jurisdiction over claims that a Chinese drywall company’s defective product wrecked homes, and a company that failed to show up in court must pay $2.7 million for damage to seven Virginia couples, a...
Storm Dumps More Snow on Northeast After Icing Southeast for 2 Days
Feb 13 2014 // The winter storm that cut electricity to more than half a million customers across the South and grounded 10,000 flights this week turned its power on the U.S. Northeast, bringing heavy snow from Virginia to Maine. In...
Federal Judge Orders Kentucky to Recognize Out-of-State Gay Marriages
Feb 13 2014 // Kentucky was ordered by a federal judge to recognize same-sex marriages made in other states as similar challenges were filed in Louisiana and Missouri, escalating litigation over gay rights in courts nationwide. U.S....
U.S. Submits 2015 Global Climate Wishlist to United Nations
Feb 13 2014 // The United States on Wednesday submitted to the United Nations its vision for a new international climate agreement that is “built to last,” outlining what it thinks should be the main elements of a climate...
BP Moves Ahead with Medical Payments Under $9.2B Oil Spill Settlement
Feb 13 2014 // BP Plc. won the right to move ahead with implementing the medical-benefits portion of its $9.2 billion settlement of oil spill claims with Gulf Coast residents after an appeals court dismissed the remaining plaintiffs at...
States’ Rules Complicate Efforts to Enact Uniform Data Security Law
Feb 12 2014 // Data thefts at U.S. retailers have rekindled enthusiasm in Congress for a single federal law on how customers should be notified about such breaches, but those efforts face the same roadblock as in the past: dozens of...
Garlock Ruling Could Shift Asbestos Litigation in Manufacturers’ Favor
Feb 12 2014 // A judge who found what he called a “startling pattern” of abuse by plaintiffs’ lawyers may have shifted the landscape of asbestos litigation with a ruling in favor of manufacturers. In a decree last...
Oklahoma, Texas Had Costliest Natural Disasters in 2013: Hartwig
Feb 11 2014 // The Oklahoma tornadoes of May 2013 not only caused significant loss of life but also contributed to its designation last year as the costliest state for natural disaster related insurance payouts, according to the...
Baby Boomers Give Up, Drop Out of U.S. Labor Force
Feb 11 2014 // When Robin McLane’s generation hit public schools in the 1950s, there were never enough classrooms or teachers to accommodate the bulge, she said. So she’s not surprised about the latest shock that boomers are...
Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Announces New Specialty Programs Division
Feb 11 2014 // San Diego, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2014) – Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC, a national multi-line program manager, is pleased to announce the formation of its new division, Atlas Specialty Programs. This new division will...
P/C Insurers’ Net Income Up 60%, Combined Ratio at 97.6 for 2013: A.M. Best
Feb 10 2014 // A relatively quiet year for catastrophes helped the U.S. property/casualty industry achieved an underwriting profit for the first time in four years, according to A.M. Best. The industry managed its way to a nearly 60...
Catlin Group Increases Net Income to $392 Million in 2013
Feb 10 2014 // The Bermuda-based, London headquartered, Catlin Group announced very good financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013, with a 27 percent increase in profit before tax to $432 million, compared to $339 million in...
Court Dismisses Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg’s Bailout Lawsuit Against New York Fed
Feb 10 2014 // A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by former American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg accusing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of unlawfully bailing out the...
Securities Class Actions Up 9% in 2013, But Below Average
Feb 10 2014 // Plaintiffs filed 166 new federal securities class actions in 2013, a 9 percent increase over 2012. However, the 2013 total is 13 percent below the average from 1997 to 2012, despite a second-half surge. The slump in...
