Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Aspen US, Brownstone to Offer Coverage to Property Owners

Oct 20 2011 // Aspen US Insurance and Brownstone Insurance Agency have formed a partnership effective September 1, to bring underwriting and claims services to the commercial residential property market. This new partnership allows...

Workers’ Comp Results Deteriorated for Northeastern States Last Year

Oct 20 2011 // Most states in the northeastern region reported deteriorating workers’ compensation underwriting results last year, according to latest data from A.M. Best. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maine and Rhode Island...

New York-based Holborn Hires Two Executives From U.S. RE

Oct 19 2011 // Independent reinsurance broker Holborn Corp. appointed Wesley Zeliff as vice president and Shinji Ueda as assistant vice president. Both new executives will be based in the firm’s New York headquarters. Zeliff comes...

Court May Revive Viacom Copyright Claim Against YouTube

Oct 19 2011 // In a copyright infringement case at the heart of media company battles to win Internet viewers, an appeals court grappled on Tuesday over whether to revive Viacom Inc.’s landmark $1 billion lawsuit against Google...

BP Gets $4 Billion from Anadarko for Gulf Oil Spill Costs

Oct 18 2011 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will pay BP Plc $4 billion toward clean-up and victim compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The amount is less than BP might have won in court, but it softens the blow of overall...

BP Settles for $4 Billion from Anadarko for Oil Spill Costs

Oct 18 2011 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp will pay BP Plc $4 billion toward clean-up and victim compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The amount is less than BP might have won in court, but it softens the blow of overall...

Outlining the Risks of the Business Traveler

Oct 17 2011 // Business travelers say there’s no substitute for being there. Even though budgets are tight and new technology makes it easy for people to connect virtually anywhere, businesses understand that it is crucial for...

U.S. SEC to Limit Charges Against Allianz

Oct 17 2011 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not plan to charge Allianz SE for illegal activity at its private equity investments, according to two people familiar with the matter, in a case that could have tested the...

Bermuda Re/Insurers Announce Q3 Cat Loss Estimates

Oct 17 2011 // A number of Bermuda-based re/insurers have announced their respective loss estimates for the third quarter of 2011. The figures given include loss adjustment expenses, and are net of any applicable reinsurance recoveries,...

California Rep. Bill Would Lower Earthquake Insurance Costs

Oct 17 2011 // California’s U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R) recently introduced legislation similar to a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) earlier this year that would strengthen the nation’s natural disaster...

New MGA Targeting U.S. Homebuilders Formed in California

Oct 17 2011 // Two veterans in the London insurance marketplace have come together again to launch an underwriting agency with a focus on U.S.-based homebuilders. Paul Jansen and Kevin Hastings have launched Cove Programs Insurance...

People

Oct 17 2011 // Wells Publishing Inc. has named Young Ha as its new East editor for its flagship Insurance Journal online and print property/casualty insurance publications. Ha, based in New York, will cover the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic...

Two Plead Guilty in Houston in New York Tour Boat Insurance Case

Oct 17 2011 // Two men have entered guilty pleas in a case involving the sale of bogus insurance to a New York tour operator whose boat capsized in 2005 killing 20 elderly tourists. Edmund Hugh Benton, 63, of Scottsdale, Ariz., pleaded...

People

Oct 17 2011 // USG Insurance Services Inc. has added Drake Burger and Steve Page as producers in its Tampa, Florida office. Burger most recently held the position of underwriter with Westrope Insurance Managers of Florida. Burger has...

State Farm: Its Conn. Deductible Decision Grounded in Fairness

Oct 14 2011 // State Farm Insurance says U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s request that the company drop Irene-related hurricane deductibles in Connecticut would actually be unfair to policyholders and introduce all sorts of...

SEC Asks Companies to Disclose Cyber Attacks

Oct 14 2011 // U.S. securities regulators formally asked public companies for the first time to disclose cyber attacks against them, following a rash of high-profile Internet crimes. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued...

Best Affirms Aspen UK, Bermuda Companies and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable

Oct 14 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Ratings Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Aspen Insurance UK Limited (AIUK) and Aspen...

Best Affirms QBE’s US Subsidiaries Ratings; Upgrades North Pointe

Oct 13 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a-” of Harrisburg,...

2,100 Jobs Lost in Insurance Industry in August

Oct 13 2011 // The latest U.S. jobs data show the insurance industry lost 2,100 jobs overall in August. The industry employs some 2,211,000 workers according to the latest numbers. The Insurance Information Institute reported that most...

Ratings Recap: HSB (UK), Nissan Global Re, Optima, Hatherley/Park

Oct 13 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating to “aa+” from...