Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Toyota Still Has Internal Problems to Fix, Says Commission
May 24 2011 // Toyota Motor Corp. has a way to go to fix crisis decision-making and other shortcomings in its corporate culture that played a key role in last year’s safety debacle, a report by an advisory panel commissioned by the...
Davis Joins Endurance Worldwide Reinsurance in U.S. Unit
May 24 2011 // John A. Davis has joined Endurance Worldwide Reinsurance as senior vice president and manager of the U.S. Treaty Casualty and Workers’ Compensation business unit. Davis will now be responsible for overseeing the...
U.S. Refuses to Pay Michigan Insurer for Ferrari Wrecked by FBI Agent
May 23 2011 // The U.S. Justice Department has refused to pay $750,000 to a Michigan insurance company for a Ferrari that was wrecked in Kentucky while driven by an FBI agent. In a recent response to a lawsuit in Detroit, the Justice...
Black Lung Disease Rising Again Among U.S. Miners
May 23 2011 // Black lung disease, long a killer of coal miners, is on the rise again after retreating in the 30 years since Congress passed tougher mine safety laws, health and safety experts said Friday. The renewed appearance of the...
NOAA Forecasts ‘Above Normal’ Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 20 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be “above normal”, spawning six to 10 hurricanes of which around half could become major, the U.S. government’s weather agency forecast Thursday. However, as the...
APEC Members Want to Salvage WTO Talks, Says U.S. Trade Rep
May 20 2011 // Asia Pacific trade ministers agreed Thursday not to give up on ailing world trade talks but to work over the next seven months on the best way to “salvage” a deal, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk...
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Reaffirms Support for Ireland
May 19 2011 // Ireland has been much in the news recently, and not just for its economic woes. The visit by the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, the first by a British monarch in 100 years, and the upcoming visit of President Obama, as...
Verisk Catastrophe Index Now Covers U.S. Earthquake Risk
May 17 2011 // The Verisk Catastrophe Index has been expanded beyond the hurricane peril to also cover U.S. earthquake risk, including fire following earthquake. The index provides industry-wide insured property loss estimates by county...
Mississippi River Closed to Traffic at Natchez
May 17 2011 // The key waterway for U.S. grain exports was cut off Monday when the U.S. Coast Guard closed the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi. The Coast Guard said 15 miles of the Mississippi was closed to all traffic to...
Toyota Can Be Sued for Reduced Value of Cars, U.S. Judge Rules
May 17 2011 // Owners of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles that were recalled over unintended acceleration may pursue claims against the automaker that the problem caused the value of their cars to fall, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S....
Best Sees ‘Growing Pressure’ for Higher P/C Insurance Rates
May 17 2011 // There is “growing pressure” to support increased rates in property/casualty insurance and reinsurance markets, rating agency A.M. Best has concluded in its most recent market analysis. As a consequence, Best...
Australia Flood, Cyclone Claims Assessments near Completion Says ICA
May 17 2011 // According to a bulletin on its web site, the Insurance Council of Australia has released updated figures on “how the general industry has responded to the enormous task of assessing over 118,000 insurance claims...
Bank Holding Company Insurance Revenue Drops 5.7%
May 16 2011 // The nation’s bank holding companies (BHCs) experienced a decrease of 5.7 percent in their total insurance revenue from a record $15.08 billion in 2009 to $14.21 billion in 2010, when MetLife, a traditional life...
P/C Insurers Take Hit in Q1 as Hurricane Season Approaches
May 16 2011 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry took a beating from record first quarter 2011 catastrophe losses, and recent earnings announcements from global reinsurers illustrate the damage those losses did to earnings and...
Floodway Opening a Blessing for Louisiana Refineries
May 16 2011 // The opening of a key spillway to relieve flooding along the Mississippi River could create logistical headaches for big Gulf Coast refiners, but will likely spare the lion’s share of the area’s refining...
Sex, Lies and the Reckless Choices of the Powerful
May 16 2011 // Sex and power are no strangers. History is littered with tales of the powerful and privileged felled by sex scandals. But make no mistake. If IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is found guilty as charged of attempting to...
Catlin’s Q1 Interim Statement Highlights 11% Rise in GPW
May 16 2011 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group’s interim statement for the first quarter of 2011, highlights a substantial 11 percent increase in gross premiums written to $$1.412 billion from $1.272 billion in Q1 2010. Net premiums...
Firms Fail to Grasp Intellectual Property Risks: Marsh/LIU Report
May 16 2011 // Global businesses do not understand the intellectual property risks facing their organizations or the value of their intangible assets, a new report says. Three-quarters of organizations are unable to identify the...
Storms That Shatter Lives Hold Lessons for Insurers
May 16 2011 // It used to be the low-frequency, high-severity events that kept U.S. property insurance producers, carriers, and reinsurers up at night. These big Cats have become part of our collective history – Hurricanes Andrew,...
Wiring in Faulty Drywall Homes Found to Be Safe
May 16 2011 // Federal safety officials have stopped recommending removal of all electrical wiring in homes with problem drywall, a change in the safety protocol that could reduce the cost of remediation. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety...
