Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Toyota Camry Improves in Insurance Safety Test
Dec 19 2013 // Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry, headed for its 12th consecutive year as the best-selling car in the U.S., returned to Consumer Reports’ recommended list after showing improvement on an insurance-industry crash...
BP Seeks Halt to Oil Spill Payments to Seafood Firms, Alleges Attorney Fraud
Dec 18 2013 // BP Plc asked a U.S. judge to stop payments in the $2.3 billion seafood-industry portion of its settlement over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill pending an investigation of fraud claims against a plaintiffs’...
Nasdaq Denied Immunity for Some Investors’ Claims Over Facebook IPO
Dec 17 2013 // Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. must face some of the negligence and securities law claims by investors who alleged they suffered $500 million in damages from the exchange’s handling of Facebook Inc.’s May 2012 initial...
Ex-BP Engineer Destroyed Gulf Spill Evidence, Jury Told
Dec 17 2013 // A former BP Plc engineer deliberately destroyed evidence sought by the U.S. for a probe of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico well explosion and oil spill, a federal prosecutor said at the end of a trial in New Orleans. Prosecutors...
Torus Receives Lloyd’s Approval to Expand Syndicate 1301
Dec 17 2013 // Global specialty insurer Torus announced from its office in London that its Syndicate 1301 business plan for 2014 has been approved by Lloyd’s. “The plan increases the syndicate’s capacity to £180...
New York Catholic Groups Win Challenge to Obamacare Birth Control Mandate
Dec 16 2013 // A group of Catholic health and educational organizations doesn’t have to comply with federal Affordable Care Act requirements to ensure employees receive insurance coverage for contraceptives, a New York federal...
Ironshore’s U.S. Energy Unit Launches Endorsements for Upstream Risks
Dec 16 2013 // The Energy Unit of Ironshore’s U.S. Specialty Casualty unitis now offering enhanced insurance coverage endorsements for upstream energy risks as part of its ExcessProtect Plus Energy Commercial Excess Liability...
GEICO Passes Allstate to Become 2d Largest U.S. Auto Insurer: SNL
Dec 16 2013 // Based on third quarter reports, GEICO Corp. has surpassed Allstate Corp. to become the nation’s second-largest private auto insurer. According to data compiled by SNL, GEICO logged $4.89 billion in direct premiums...
AIG to Sell Aircraft Leasing Unit ILFC for $5 Billion
Dec 16 2013 // American International Group Inc. agreed to sell the world’s second-largest aircraft lessor to AerCap Holdings NV for $5 billion after a group of Chinese bidders missed deadlines to purchase the business. AerCap will...
Cantor Fitzgerald, American Airlines Settle 9/11 Lawsuit
Dec 16 2013 // Cantor Fitzgerald has agreed to settle a lawsuit against American Airlines Group Inc and its insurers over business and property losses stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, in which the Wall...
IAG to Buy Wesfarmers Insurance Business for A$1.85 Billion
Dec 16 2013 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. agreed to buy Wesfarmers Ltd.’s insurance underwriting businesses in Australia and New Zealand for A$1.85 billion [US$1.653 billion] to become the largest insurer in...
10 Things to Know About Skiing & Snowboarding
Dec 16 2013 // The preliminary estimate of the number of U.S. skier/snowboarder visits for the 2012/2013 season is 56.6 million. The Rocky Mountain region had the most visits, with 19.5 million, followed by the Northeast region, with...
How Insurance Industry Associations Help Those in Need
Dec 16 2013 // Big “I” member agents, along with former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, at a Make-A-Wish event on April 21, 2013, at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va., to benefit local children. Big...
U.S. Insurance Broker Sector Outlook Positive for 2014: Fitch
Dec 16 2013 // Revenue and earnings growth for U.S. insurance brokers in 2014 is expected to improve modestly over 2013, according to a report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch, which issued a stable rating outlook and positive sector outlook for...
P/C Industry Supportive But Cautious on Federal Insurance Office Recommendations
Dec 13 2013 // Insurers, agents, brokers and state regulators welcome modernization and improvements in the current regulation of insurance, but are not so welcoming of changes that might invite regulation by the federal government. The...
Ascent Launches Medical Billings E&O Coverage for U.S. Healthcare Professionals
Dec 13 2013 // Ascent Underwriting, the Managing General Agent (MGA) specialising in emerging risks, has launched a medical billings errors & omissions insurance product specifically aimed at U.S. healthcare professionals. CyberPro...
Best Downgrades Issuer Credit Ratings of QBE’s U.S. Subsidiaries; Affirms FSR
Dec 13 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a” from “a+” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of the pooled and reinsured members of...
Federal Auto Safety Regulator Strickland to Exit
Dec 13 2013 // The top U.S. auto-safety regulator will step down, as his agency investigates fires in Tesla Motors Inc. electric cars and is behind schedule on implementing a rule requiring backup cameras in new cars. U.S. National...
QBE Bond Risk Surges as U.S. Expansion Sours: Australia Credit Risk
Dec 13 2013 // Bond risk on QBE Insurance Group Ltd. halved in the first 11 months of the year before surging this month as the company said it would lose money. Credit-default swaps on QBE have climbed 41 basis points since Nov. 30 to...
Anadarko, Kerr-McGee Liable for Pollution Costs of Spun-Off Paint Unit Tronox
Dec 12 2013 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and its Kerr-McGee unit acted with “intent to hinder” when they spun off Tronox, the paint materials company that later went bankrupt, and should pay billions of dollars in...
