Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ratings Recap: Beazley (US), Prism
Oct 28 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. (BICI), which is based in Farmington, Conn. The outlook...
EU Official Says US ‘Serious’ about Getting Doha Round Trade Deal
Oct 27 2009 // A top European Union official said Monday she believed President Barack Obama was serious about reaching a deal in long-running world trade talks, but the time has come for all countries to show their cards. “I think...
U.S. Says Chinese Officials Helping with Probe of Tainted Drywall
Oct 27 2009 // China is helping American officials investigate reports of contaminated Chinese drywall after thousands of American homeowners complained the building material made them sick or damaged their houses, a top U.S. safety...
U.S. Senate Healthcare Bill to Include Public Option with State Opt-Out
Oct 27 2009 // Democratic leader Harry Reid said Monday the U.S. Senate’s healthcare overhaul will include a government-run insurance plan that lets states opt out, handing liberals an early victory on the bill’s most...
AIG Approved to Pay $12 Million Delayed Executive Retention Awards
Oct 26 2009 // AIG, the insurer that received a huge government bail out, said on Friday it is paying $12.1 million in retention awards to some top executives after U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg gave it the green light. In a regulatory...
Southeast States Among Most Exposed to Climate Change Impact: Report
Oct 26 2009 // Poverty and climate hazards make the southeast United States the country’s most vulnerable area to climate change impact, Oxfam America said. A report released by the relief organization identified high-risk...
U.S. Warned to Prepare Now for Disasters Caused by Global Warming
Oct 26 2009 // As Congress considers curbs on carbon dioxide pollution, a U.S. report has urged the White House to prepare now for flooding and other natural disasters brought by global warming. Federal agencies, working with Congress,...
Puerto Rico Refinery Fire Extinguished; Burned for two Days
Oct 26 2009 // Firefighters in Puerto Rico extinguished a huge fire Saturday that had raged for more than two days at an oil storage depot outside San Juan and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 local residents. Federal agents...
U.S. Healthcare System Wastes Up to $700-$800 Billion a Year: Reuters
Oct 26 2009 // The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud,...
Florida Judge: $97M Nicaraguan Judgment Against Dole Unenforceable
Oct 23 2009 // Florida judge has said a $97 million judgment against U.S. food giant Dole and Dow Chemical Co. cannot be enforced because the Nicaraguan court that issued it neither had jurisdiction nor met international legal...
Drop in Catastrophe Losses Leads Travelers to Strong Underwriting Gain
Oct 22 2009 // Travelers Companies Inc., the No. 1 publicly-traded U.S. property/ casualty insurer, said its quarterly profit more than quadrupled, strongly beating expectations, as a dearth of costly catastrophes left the company with...
Top Executives at AIG Financial, Other Bailed Out Firms to See Pay Cuts
Oct 22 2009 // Top earners at financial and auto companies bailed out by the U.S. government will see their pay slashed under an Obama administration plan aimed at addressing public outrage over eye-popping paychecks, two sources...
Torus Specialty Expands Umbrella, Excess Liability Placement Capability
Oct 22 2009 // Torus Specialty, the U.S. subsidiary of global specialty insurer, Torus, announced that it can now write $10 million in capacity for umbrella and excess liability placements. Further capacity increases are expected in the...
AmTrust to Invest $42 Million in ACAC Acquisition of GMAC P/C Insurance
Oct 21 2009 // AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. is making an investment in American Capital Acquisition Corp. in connection with the acquisition by ACAC of GMAC’s U.S. consumer property/ casualty insurance business. AmTrust said it...
Alabama Supreme Court Throws Out $274M in Verdicts Against Drug Makers
Oct 19 2009 // The Alabama Supreme Court last Friday threw out jury decisions awarding the state more than $274 million from three pharmaceutical companies, ruling they did not defraud the state in pricing Medicaid prescription...
Q&A with Ironshore’s Kelley: Why He Left AIG and His Plans for Ironshore
Oct 19 2009 // In December, 2008, Kevin Kelley left Lexington Insurance Co., the largest excess and surplus lines insurance company, after more than 30 years during which he helped the company become one of parent American International...
El Nino to Influence U.S. Winter Weather– Or Not, Say Forecasters
Oct 19 2009 // It will be a tale of two winters in the United States — warmer and drier than average in the North and wetter and cooler in the South — thanks to El Nino, according to government forecasters. In its winter...
Business Moves
Oct 19 2009 // Norfolk & Dedham, Rockingham Two East Coast-based mutual insurance companies have formed a mutual alliance that they say allows them to achieve efficiencies, diversification and spread of risk without actually merging...
Business Moves
Oct 19 2009 // A.J. Gallagher, Fox Lawson Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Fox Lawson & Associates LLC in St. Paul, Minn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1995, Fox Lawson &...
People
Oct 19 2009 // Michael “Mike” R. Donohoe of Mankato, Minn., was installed as vice chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America at the association’s recent Leadership Conference in New Orleans,...
