Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurer Wins Appeal in Lead-Contaminated Chinese Toy Case
Apr 16 2010 // A federal appeals court has ruled that an insurance company has no duty to defend against class action lawsuits filed in Illinois targeting the company’s insured, a Chinese manufacturer of toys sold in the United...
MetLife Pays $13.5 Million to Settle U.S. Contingent Commission Case
Apr 16 2010 // MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. insurer, has agreed to pay $13.5 million to resolve a federal government investigation into improper payments made to a San Diego-based insurance broker, the U.S. Justice Department said on...
QBE Acquires NAU Country Insurance
Apr 16 2010 // QBE Americas has agreed to acquire NAU Country Insurance Co., a writer of crop insurance business based in Ramsey, Minn. Completion is expected in July 2010, subject to regulatory approvals. The acquisition supports...
Louisiana Hurricane Researcher and Corps Critic Fails to Win Job Back
Apr 15 2010 // A federal judge refused to immediately reinstate Louisiana State University hurricane and coastal researcher Ivor van Heerden, who was stripped of most of his duties last year. Van Heerden claims he is losing his job...
P/C Industry’s Net Income Up $25B in 2009; Combined Ratio Improves
Apr 15 2010 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s profitability as measured by their rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus (or statutory net worth) increased by 5.8 percent in 2009, while private P/C...
Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius Ranked as Europe’s Most Dangerous Volcano
Apr 15 2010 // A major eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius could result in 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion, says a new study. According to the Willis Research Network...
Georgia Joins Lawsuit Against Healthcare Overhaul
Apr 14 2010 // Georgia is joining a Florida-led group of states in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida’s attorney general said Tuesday. Bill McCollum, who is seeking...
How to Handle Firms ‘Too Big To Fail’ Divides Democrats, Republicans
Apr 14 2010 // U.S President Barack Obama will try to turn up the pressure for an overhaul of Wall Street regulations as he meets Wednesday with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to discuss a sweeping package of...
Report: Q1 Catastrophe Bond Market Sees Sustained Improvement
Apr 14 2010 // Catastrophe bond issuance conditions saw sustained improvement in the first quarter of 2010, reflecting the increase in prominence of the insurance linked securities (ILS) asset class. Despite the continued improvement in...
AIG ‘Strongly Objected’ to Pay Czar’s Cuts
Apr 13 2010 // American International Group Inc. “strongly objected” last year when U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg imposed large cuts in the cash salaries of two of its top executives, regulatory filings showed...
Global Reinsurers Enjoyed Solid Year in 2009, A.M. Best Reports
Apr 13 2010 // Capacity returned in force to the global reinsurance market in 2009, as solid earnings helped to propel capital upward by 24 percent from the previous year, despite a softening market. Recovering from harsh blows delivered...
How Microinsurance Plans Extend Healthcare in Africa
Apr 12 2010 // Kenyan student Shadrack Silipo had a heart operation five years ago, the sort of surgery that often bankrupts families in Africa. Silipo’s parents normally would have paid by selling off land, the same green acres...
5 More States Join Lawsuit Against New Healthcare Law
Apr 8 2010 // Five more states are joining a Florida-led group of states in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida’s attorney general said Wednesday. The joint lawsuit...
Forecasters Predict Above-Average Hurricane Season in 2010
Apr 8 2010 // The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will produce an above-average eight hurricanes, four of them major, posing a heightened threat to the U.S. coastline, the Colorado State University hurricane forecasting team predicted...
Insurance Mergers Dropped in 2009, Reports Conning
Apr 8 2010 // The U.S. saw a significant decline in the reported value of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in 2009, and overall global transaction values also declined further from very low 2008 levels,...
Federal Judge in New Orleans Awards $2.6M in Chinese Drywall Case
Apr 8 2010 // A federal judge in New Orleans has awarded seven plaintiffs from Virginia more than $2.6 million in a consolidated case involving damage to the plaintiff’s homes as a result of the installation of substandard drywall...
West Virginia Hoping for a Miracle in Mine Rescue
Apr 7 2010 // Drills boring into a West Virginia coal mine Wednesday carried hope for a “miracle” rescue of four miners missing after a blast killed 25 people in the worst U.S. mine disaster in a quarter century. The...
International Insider: Multinationals and Money Laundering
Apr 7 2010 // As the international community steps up its efforts to fight money laundering, a number of countries are now requiring insurers to obtain additional information from their customers to screen out possible bad actors. For...
Rhode Island Officials Say Grants, Not Loans Needed for Floods
Apr 7 2010 // Several of Rhode Island’s elected officials said Monday they are pushing to secure federal grants instead of loans for hundreds of businesses trying to recover from the worst flooding in 200 years, although a week...
Cameras Make Chicago Most Closely Watched U.S. City
Apr 7 2010 // In less than a decade and with little opposition, Chicago has linked thousands of cameras in a network covering most of the city, creating the most extensive and sophisticated video surveillance system in the United States...
