Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Preparedness Stressed on 200th Anniversary of the New Madrid Earthquakes
Dec 15 2011 // On the 200th anniversary of the first tremors of the New Madrid earthquakes, which were several of the most powerful quakes the United States has ever experienced, an insurance industry-backed group is reminding consumers...
Crop Insurance Rates Skyrocket After Summer Floods
Dec 15 2011 // Midwestern farmers who saw their land swamped by summer flooding may be socked again with steep increases in their crop insurance premiums, the expensive result of the failure to fix broken levees before the winter snow...
N.Y. Consumer Report Accuses Insurers of Needlessly Raising Rates
Dec 15 2011 // A new consumer advocacy report is accusing P/C insurers of ‘colluding’ and needlessly raising commercial insurance rates at a time when U.S. businesses are still reeling from the slow economy. The report,...
Corps Says It’s not to Blame for Katrina Flooding
Dec 14 2011 // Justice Department lawyers argued at trial on Dec. 12 that there is little evidence a shipping channel dug decades ago by the Army Corps of Engineers contributed significantly to the castastrophic flooding after Hurricane...
Torus Enters U.S. Surety Market
Dec 13 2011 // Torus has entered the U.S. surety market with the launch of Torus Surety and the acquisition of First Sealord Surety Inc. The deal should be finalized in January 2012. Torus Surety will focus on providing contract surety...
SEC Sues Brokerage Insurance Fund Over Stanford Victims’ Claims
Dec 13 2011 // Federal securities regulators have sued a brokerage industry backed fund on behalf of victims who lost money in Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme and have yet to recover any funds. The U.S. Securities...
Bulk of U.S. Data Theft Linked to Few Chinese Hacker Teams
Dec 13 2011 // As few as 12 different Chinese groups, largely backed or directed by the government there, do the bulk of the China-based cyberattacks stealing critical data from U.S. companies and government agencies, according to U.S....
U.S. Court Affirms $50M Verdict for Rice Farmers
Dec 12 2011 // The Arkansas Supreme Court has affirmed a nearly $50 million verdict for farmers who say they lost money because Bayer’s genetically altered rice seeds contaminated the food supply and drove down global crop...
Green Retrofitting Surpasses New Green Construction for First Time
Dec 9 2011 // Green retrofitting of commercial buildings is outpacing the construction of new green buildings, according to a new report issued this week. The trend could mean that more building owners may believe that bringing their...
Fireman’s Fund Bushnell Named to U.S. Green Building Council Board
Dec 8 2011 // Steven Bushnell, a senior director at Novato Calif., based-Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., has been appointed to the U.S. Green Building Council 2012 board of directors. USGBC on Thursday announced the newly elected...
70 Million Drivers Missing Out on Car Insurance Savings: Insurer
Dec 8 2011 // More than 70 million drivers in the U.S. potentially are leaving car insurance savings on the table by not taking advantage of usage-based insurance programs that reward drivers who drive safely and during safe times of...
Lloyd’s Study Finds U.S. Businesses Concerned with Talent, Skills Shortage
Dec 8 2011 // U.S. business leaders are as concerned as their European counterparts over a talent and skills shortage, despite record unemployment levels across much of the U.S. The talent risk was number two in a survey conducted by...
Greenberg Honored for China-U.S. Relations
Dec 7 2011 // The China General Chamber of Commerce – U.S.A. has honored Maurice R. Greenberg for his contributions toward U.S. and China exchanges. The organization’s Win-Win Award was presented to the insurance executive at...
Latest Analysis Concludes Foreign Insurers Missing Out on China Party
Dec 7 2011 // Ten years ago, foreign insurers were lining up to celebrate China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, eager to tap what was certain to become the world’s next big insurance frontier. A decade on, it is...
GM Close to Possible Volt Battery Fires Fix
Dec 7 2011 // General Motors Co. is closing in on a package of proposed fixes for the Chevrolet Volt battery pack that engineers believe would eliminate the risk of a fire being triggered days after a crash, two people with knowledge of...
Firm to Pay $209M Over West Virginia Blast That Killed 29
Dec 7 2011 // Coal miner Alpha Natural Resources has agreed to pay $1.5 million to each of the families of 29 miners killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia last year. The payments – part of a $209...
Louisiana Insurance Fraud Fugitive Held
Dec 6 2011 // A former Baton Rouge, La., man who once faked his death to elude authorities must remain in custody until more hearings in his case. The Advocate reports that Milton Windsor Harris appeared before U.S. Magistrate Christine...
Healthcare Execs Facing ‘Responsible Corporate Officer’ Strict Liability
Dec 6 2011 // After decades in relative obscurity, a U.S. legal doctrine that holds corporate officers liable for company wrongdoing is finding its way back into some high-profile healthcare prosecutions. The “responsible...
BP Accuses Halliburton of Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence
Dec 6 2011 // BP Plc accused Halliburton Co. of destroying evidence that the oilfield services company did inadequate cement work on the Gulf of Mexico oil well that blew out last year, and asked a federal judge to punish...
U.S. Power Grid Needs Cybersecurity Protection: MIT Report
Dec 6 2011 // The threat of cyberattacks on the U.S. power grid should be dealt with by a single federal agency, not the welter of groups now charged with the electric system’s security, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute...
