Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Surplus Lines Took Hit from Sandy in 2012 But Appears Back on Track in 2013
Sep 23 2013 // Surplus lines insurers in 2012 posted one of their worst years overall as their underwriting performance fell below that of the total property/casualty (P/C) industry for the first time in more than a decade. Much of the...
U.S. Wants Supreme Court to Take up Hobby Lobby Case
Sep 23 2013 // The federal government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby and a Christian bookstore chain have to provide a wide range of birth control options for workers as part of the...
Technology, Not Presidents, Drives Healthcare Costs
Sep 23 2013 // Last week I attended Brookings Papers on Economic Activity to watch some of the smartest economists in America debate some of the most interesting papers. The very first paper presented is of particularly timely interest:...
Vote on Prudential Systemic Risk Designation Was 7-2
Sep 23 2013 // Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, was designated systemically important in a 7-to-2 vote by a council of regulators charged with preventing another crisis. Edward DeMarco, acting director of...
Midwest Politicians Work as Insurance Advocates
Sep 23 2013 // Three individuals who have worked in the insurance industry and now practice politics in the Midwest — Indiana State Representative Matt Lehman, Michigan State Senator David Robertson and U.S. Congressman Tom Latham...
Wholesale: More Special Than Ever
Sep 23 2013 // Savvy wholesalers are meeting the demand for specialized knowledge Everyone loves the wholesale insurance business these days, or so it seems. “We’ve seen the entrance of a lot of other people coming into the...
The FSB’s Report Misses The Mark
Sep 23 2013 // In the United States, football season has just arrived. In Europe, football season has been underway since August. While both are a sport and called “football,” they couldn’t be more different. They have...
JLT to Acquire Towers Watson Reinsurance Brokerage Unit, Expand Into U.S.
Sep 20 2013 // UK-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT) said it is acquiring the reinsurance brokerage business of New York-based Towers Watson for $250 million. JLT said the acquisition would provide “a very strong...
JPMorgan Guilty Admission Marks Shift in SEC Policy
Sep 20 2013 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in settling claims with JPMorgan Chase & Co. over its handling of a $6.2 billion trading loss, landed its biggest victory yet in fulfilling a pledge to force wrongdoers to...
Judge Accepts Halliburton’s Guilty Plea in Gulf Oil Case
Sep 20 2013 // A federal judge accepted a Halliburton Co. unit’s guilty plea to destroying tests conducted on cement work connected to the BP Plc-owned well that exploded in 2010, setting off the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Officials...
Prudential Designated Systemically Risky, Subject to Federal Reserve Oversight
Sep 20 2013 // Insurer Prudential Financial Inc. said on Thursday that U.S. regulators had voted to designate the company as systemically risky, bringing it under stricter regulatory oversight. A group of regulators known as the...
Best Affirms Ratings of Aspen Insurance and Subs Ratings
Sep 20 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Aspen Insurance UK Limited (AIUK) and Aspen...
Texas Governor, State Senator Square Off on Health Exchange Navigator Rules
Sep 19 2013 // Texas’ top insurance regulator has found herself in the midst of a battle over rules that govern those who will provide information to consumers about the health insurance exchanges that are a part of the U.S....
MetLife Says Regulators May Miss Key Insurer Risks with Focus on Bank Rules
Sep 19 2013 // Federal regulators may miss important threats to the financial stability of U.S. insurers by focusing on bank risks, MetLife Inc. Chief Financial Officer John Hele said. “Bank rules overlook key insurance...
U.S. Crop-Insurance Claims Jump Amid Planting Delays, USDA Says
Sep 18 2013 // U.S. farmers who were prevented from planting by rain this year filed crop-insurance claims on six times more land than last season, the government said. Farmers filed claims on 8.213 million acres of grains, oilseeds,...
Court Says Facebook ‘Like’ Is Protected Speech for Employees
Sep 18 2013 // Using Facebook Inc.’s “Like” feature to show support for a candidate in an election is speech protected under the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court said, handing a victory to the social...
Firms Helping Boat Owners Test Waters of ‘Sharing Economy’
Sep 18 2013 // Getting out on the open sea, wind in your hair, enjoying the ride with your family and friends. Then there’s the boat payments, storage fees, fuel, maintenance and repair — these costs can quickly sink the dream of...
State Insurance Regulators Invoke Jefferson to Limit Federal Role
Sep 18 2013 // State insurance regulators are drawing on the country’s founding principles as they resist international pressure to give the federal government a greater role in overseeing the industry. Ben Nelson, chief executive...
Arkansas: 156 Bridges Deficient, Fracture Critical
Sep 17 2013 // Twenty state-owned bridges that carry upward of 100,000 vehicles daily are among 156 Arkansas spans that inspectors consider both structurally deficient and at risk for a catastrophe should a key component fail, according...
AP Report Claims More Than 100 Kentucky Bridges At Risk
Sep 17 2013 // More than 100 Kentucky bridges have advanced deterioration and are at risk of collapsing, federal records show, and the head of the state’s transportation agency blames the situation largely on increased, heavier...
