Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Republicans to Re-launch U.S. Flood Insurance Overhaul
Mar 4 2011 // Draft legislation to overhaul the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program will be unveiled next week, said the Republican chairman of a congressional insurance oversight panel Thursday. Representative Judy Biggert told...
Aon Benfield’s Cat Report Highlights NZ Quake, Cyclone Yasi
Mar 4 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., has released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during...
Report: Illinois Insurance Regulator McRaith in Line to Head U.S. Insurance Office
Mar 3 2011 // The Obama administration was expected soon to name an Illinois state insurance regulator to head the new Federal Insurance Office, said sources familiar with the matter Thursday. Michael McRaith, seen as the front-runner...
U.S. Treasury Expects $6.3 Billion from AIG’s MetLife Sale
Mar 3 2011 // American International Group Inc. sold $9.6 billion worth of MetLife Inc. shares on Wednesday, producing gross proceeds of about $6.3 billion to accelerate its payback of U.S. Treasury bailout funds. AIG and the Treasury...
Mississippi Firm Sued for Hiring Bias By Non-Immigrants
Mar 2 2011 // A Mississippi company that pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to the largest U.S. workplace raid on illegal immigrants is now facing a lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against non-immigrants who applied for jobs. A...
Holocaust Survivors Want U.S. to Push European Insurers on Payments
Mar 2 2011 // Aging survivors of the Nazi Holocaust plan to protest outside a political fundraiser in Miami Beach featuring President Barack Obama this week to publicize their struggle to collect what they say is $20 billion in Jewish...
Senate Amends Patent Reform Bill, Vote Could Come This Week
Mar 2 2011 // The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to strip controversial provisions out of a bipartisan bill to revamp the U.S. patent system and clear a years long backlog of patent applications. The vote was 97 in favor and two...
Swiss Re Estimates Christchurch Quake Claims at App. $800 Million
Mar 2 2011 // Swiss Re has announced that, based on current information, it provisionally estimates its claims cost from the earthquake in New Zealand on February 22nd to be approximately $800 million, net of retrocession and before...
California Proposes to Disable Itself From Taxing 100% of Surplus Lines Premium
Mar 1 2011 // A California legislator has proposed a surplus lines bill — one effect of which will reduce California’s surplus lines premium tax revenues. On Feb. 9, 2011, California Assembly Member Solario introduced Assembly...
Security Officer at Massey West Virginia Mine Charged in Probe
Mar 1 2011 // The head of security at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine was arrested Monday on charges he impeded investigators and lied to them as they probed an explosion at the West Virginia mine that killed 29...
MBIA Shareholder Lawsuit Revived by Federal Appeals Court
Mar 1 2011 // A federal appeals court on Monday gave new life to a shareholder lawsuit accusing MBIA Inc of securities fraud over a reinsurance transaction that caused the bond insurer to restate six years of results. The 2nd U.S....
Validus Comments on NZ Quake Loss Estimates; Q1 Loss Activity
Mar 1 2011 // Bermuda-based Validus Holdings, Ltd. Has issued a comment on worldwide loss activity occurring in the first quarter of 2011, including the February 22 New Zealand earthquake. The 6.3 magnitude earthquake which struck the...
Demand for Agricultural Insurance Expected to Grow
Feb 25 2011 // The agricultural insurance market is facing rising demand along with pressures to adapt to changes in farming and to become more efficient in delivering products. Increasing world demand for food is driving up commodity...
Chartis 4Q Loss Tied to Reserve Strengthening
Feb 25 2011 // American International Group Inc. reported net income of $11.2 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010, and $7.8 billion for the full year 2010. Included in the 2010 fourth quarter results is a previously announced...
New Zealand May Use Cat Bonds to Recapitalize Disaster Fund
Feb 24 2011 // New Zealand’s government may have to recapitalize its crucial national disaster safety fund after being hit by two major earthquakes in five months, analysts and insurers say. The government could decide to dip into...
Vivendi Wins Narrowing of $9 Billion U.S. Investor Lawsuit
Feb 23 2011 // Vivendi SA won a big court victory when a federal judge slashed potential damages in a $9.3 billion lawsuit accusing the French media company of misleading shareholders about its finances in connection with a giant merger...
New Zealand Quake Kills at Least 65; Race to Reach Trapped Victims
Feb 22 2011 // New Zealand rescue teams worked under search lights early Wednesday to find scores of people trapped under collapsed buildings after an earthquake struck the country’s second-biggest city of Christchurch, killing at...
Senate to Vote on Patent Damages Reform After Break
Feb 22 2011 // The U.S. Senate aims to begin consideration next month of a bipartisan bill to revamp the U.S. patent system and reduce the likelihood of what critics see as excessive damage awards, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...
Demand for Agricultural Insurance Coverages Expected to Grow
Feb 21 2011 // Increasing world demand for food is driving up commodity prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other food staples. At the same time, the U.S. farming economy is strong, the federal crop insurance program is being changed,...
Insurance Industry Challenged by Unexpected Weather
Feb 21 2011 // It’s a tough time to be in the $500 billion U.S. property insurance business. Storms are happening in places they never happened before, at intensities they have never reached before and at times of year when they...
