Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana Forensic Firms Move into New Business Lines
Oct 24 2013 // After Hurricane Katrina, several forensic engineering firms popped up in the New Orleans area to serve an insurance industry overwhelmed with thousands of damage claims. Since the storm, the companies that remain in New...
Federal Court Rules Delaware Business Court’s Private Arbitration Is Unconstitutional
Oct 24 2013 // Delaware’s legal industry suffered a blow when a federal court found on Wednesday the state violated the U.S. Constitution with its novel system of allowing judges to arbitrate private business disputes, which...
Flood Insurance Price Increases Affecting Home Sales
Oct 24 2013 // Rangel Dockery and her husband bought a waterfront house in Florida four months ago, assuming their $2,000-a-year flood-insurance premium would remain about the same. After reading recently about a change in the federal...
Jury Finds Bank of America Liable for Countrywide Mortgage Fraud
Oct 24 2013 // Bank of America Corp. was found liable for fraud on Wednesday over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit, a major win for the U.S. government in one of the few trials stemming from the financial crisis. After a...
After JPMorgan $13B Deal, Banks Seek Protections in Future Bailouts
Oct 24 2013 // As the U.S. government closes in on a $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co. over its mortgage practices, lawyers specializing in bank mergers are looking for ways to protect their clients from big losses in...
United States Urges More Flexibility in new Global Climate Deal
Oct 23 2013 // The United States called on Tuesday for a more flexible approach to a new United Nations’ climate deal which balances the needs of all countries and has a better chance of success. Two years ago, some 190 countries...
Aspen Re Forms Rock Re in U.S. for Facultative Brokered Property
Oct 23 2013 // Bermuda-based Aspen Reinsurance, the reinsurance segment of Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited has formed Rock Re, a new dedicated brokered property facultative unit within its US operation. Rock Re “builds on Aspen...
U.S. Unveils Draft of Voluntary Corporate Cybersecurity Standards
Oct 22 2013 // A U.S. bureau on Tuesday unveiled a draft of voluntary standards that companies can adopt to boost cybersecurity – part of an attempt to protect critical industries without setting restrictive and costly...
Two Legacy Network Executives in Idaho Sentenced
Oct 22 2013 // The former founder and chairman of the board of The Legacy Network, an insurance brokerage agency in Rexburg, Idaho, and his son were sentenced on Wednesday in United States District Court in Pocatello. The sentencing was...
Integro Acquires UK-Based Broker Doodson
Oct 22 2013 // International insurance brokerage and risk management firm Integro announced it has acquired Doodson Broking Group, a UK-based entertainment and sports specialist that also provides full service commercial and private...
Supreme Court Declines Privacy Claim Against Resale of Driving Records
Oct 22 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp. can obtain and sell information on drivers provided by state agencies without violating a federal privacy law. The decision not...
Aon Benfield: U.S. Homeowners Insurance Offers Growth Opportunities
Oct 21 2013 // A new report from Aon Benfield, a reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, says U.S. homeowners insurance is showing significant growth opportunities. The report, titled “Homeowners ROE Outlook: 2013...
Say Cheese: EU Strikes Trade Deal with Canada; Looks to U.S.
Oct 21 2013 // The European Union and Canada agreed a multibillion-dollar trade pact on Friday that will integrate two of the world’s largest economies and pave the way for Europe to clinch an even bigger deal with the United...
Reinsurers Get Down to Business in Baden-Baden; Willis Re Chairman Comments
Oct 21 2013 // “I don’t think there have been any big changes between Monte Carlo and Baden-Baden,” said James Vickers, chairman of Willis Re International. This isn’t that surprising, given that the two...
Insurer Plans IPO Despite Not Making Profit Yet
Oct 21 2013 // NMI Holdings Inc., the mortgage guarantor backed by Kyle Bass, Carlyle Group LP and BlueMountain Capital Management LLC, is seeking to be the first U.S. insurer since 2009 to file an initial public offering without posting...
West Fertilizer Plant Cited, Fined by OSHA
Oct 21 2013 // Further Investigation Delayed by Government Shutdown The partial government shutdown has delayed the federal investigation of the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, and efforts to improve chemical safety,...
Decreasing Agency Balance Sheet Value: A Positive Impact?
Oct 21 2013 // Despite significant optimism about key market fundamentals, year-over-year agency valuation increases and agency performance metrics, ownership perpetuation continues to be the biggest long-term challenge to...
Chinese Drywall Maker Questions Product Liability Ruling
Oct 21 2013 // A Chinese drywall manufacturer asked a federal appeals court on Oct. 9 to overturn a judge’s ruling that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over claims that its defective product wrecked thousands of homes. A three-judge...
Prudential Drops Its Fight Against Systemic Risk Designation
Oct 20 2013 // Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, abandoned its challenge to a U.S. designation from a Treasury Department panel that subjects the company to increased regulatory oversight. The insurer opted...
High Crop Prices Turn More Midwest Grassland into Cropland
Oct 18 2013 // When cattle producer Jason Zahn aims his pickup across the gravel roads of North Dakota, he doesn’t see as many native grasses dancing along the prairie. Instead, he sees more and more black. He sees tilled dirt or...
