Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Supreme Court to Hear Healthcare Law in March
Nov 14 2011 // The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide the fate of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, with an election-year ruling due by July on the U.S. healthcare system’s biggest overhaul in nearly 50 years. The...
Travelers Forms Clean Energy & Technology Practice
Nov 14 2011 // The Travelers Companies, Inc. have formed the Clean Energy & Technology Practice. This new practice offers clean energy and technology-focused insurance products, and risk and claim management resources. The practice...
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Hits New Low
Nov 14 2011 // The percentage of Americans who have health insurance through their employer slipped to a new low of 44.5 percent in the third quarter, a drop of over 5 percentage points in three years, according to a poll released...
Life Insurer Sues Bank of America Over Mortgages
Nov 10 2011 // Bank of America Corp. and its Countrywide Financial unit were on Wednesday hit with a new lawsuit alleging fraud in the sale of residential mortgage debt to a New York mutual life insurance company. National Integrity Life...
U.S. Reopens Public Database of Malpractice Claims Against Doctors
Nov 10 2011 // The U.S. government reopened public access to a database of malpractice claims and damages paid by doctors, with new restrictions that would prohibit using it in any way to identify the physicians. Consumer advocates and...
Australia Urges Breaking up Doha Round into Smaller Pacts
Nov 10 2011 // Australia wants World Trade Organization members to recognize that reaching a comprehensive deal in decade-old world trade talks has become impossible and to focus instead on a series of smaller pacts, the country’s...
Sentry Expands Casualty Products to Clients with Overseas Operations
Nov 9 2011 // Sentry Insurance is now offering foreign general liability and foreign voluntary workers’ compensation to U.S.-based clients with multinational operations. Sentry’s foreign general liability product provides...
Lawmakers Urge U.S. Caution on Japan Trade Talks
Nov 9 2011 // Four senior U.S. lawmakers Tuesday urged President Barack Obama’s administration not to make a hasty decision to begin free trade talks with Japan if that country should request this week to join negotiations on a...
Justice Department to Clarify Guidelines for Bribery Probes
Nov 9 2011 // A top Justice Department official said Tuesday the agency will clarify next year what triggers anti-corruption probes into U.S. corporations. Lanny Breuer, head of the criminal division, said his department expects to...
Best Affirms Torus Insurance Holdings and Operating Subs Ratings
Nov 9 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Torus Insurance (Bermuda) Limited, Torus...
Torus Launches U.S. Professional, Management Liability Products
Nov 8 2011 // Torus now has U.S. professional and management liability primary underwriting capabilities. Led by Jeffrey Grange, senior vice president, head of professional lines, the offering includes products across three segments:...
Appeals Court Upholds Obama Healthcare Law
Nov 8 2011 // President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law got a boost Tuesday when a U.S. appeals court agreed with a lower court that dismissed a challenge and found the law’s minimum coverage requirement was...
Moody’s Reports on Proposed Systemic Risk Rules for Insurers
Nov 8 2011 // A key ratings agency says that recently proposed guidelines for identifying which insurers would qualify as systemic risks represent an important first step in improved federal regulation of financial institutions. The...
Listeria Lawsuits Could Target Grocers, Auditor
Nov 8 2011 // An outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe blamed for the deaths of 29 people could be costly for grocery stores, a distributor and an auditing lab. Whole or pre-cut Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupe from Colorado-based Jensen Farms...
Health Costs of U.S. Climate Disasters of Last Decade: $14 Billion
Nov 8 2011 // Deaths and health problems from floods, drought and other U.S. disasters related to climate change cost an estimated $14 billion over the last decade, researchers said Monday. “When extreme weather hits, we hear...
Insurance Groups Laud State Regulators’ Action to Reduce Reinsurance Collateral
Nov 8 2011 // State insurance regulators have approved a new model law and regulation on credit for reinsurance that allows some foreign reinsurers to post reduced collateral. The new rules and regulations, which have taken 12 years to...
Accounting Board May Change its ‘Fair Value’ Rule
Nov 8 2011 // A global accounting rule rushed through after pressure from politicians during the financial crisis may have to be tweaked, sparking disruption for investors and companies. The International Accounting Standards Board...
Investors Want ‘Secrecy’ Lifted in BofA Mortgage Securities Deal
Nov 7 2011 // Investors want to lift the “shroud of secrecy” over the proposed $8.5 billion settlement of Bank of America Corp.’s mortgage-backed securities liability in the coming weeks, a lawyer said last week. Dan...
Death Toll from U.S. Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Rises
Nov 7 2011 // The death toll linked to listeria-contaminated cantaloupes in the United States reached 28 in late October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Whole or pre-cut Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupe from...
NOAA: U.S. Values Hawaii Reefs at $33.57 Billion
Nov 7 2011 // Americans peg the value of coral reefs around the main Hawaiian Islands at $33.57 billion, according to a study commissioned by the federal government. Officials frequently cite coral reefs as being vital to tourism and...
