Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Earthquake Risk Models Likely To Reduce Insured Loss Estimates
Aug 6 2009 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has unveiled its next-generation models for North America earthquake risks, covering the United States and Alaska, Canada and Mexico. The new models are likely to lead...
Grose Named U.S. Marketing Director for Marsh
Aug 5 2009 // Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Gary Grose as U.S. marketing director. Grose joins Marsh with 20 years of insurance industry marketing and sales experience. He reports to Jack Butcher, U.S. sales and...
Ohio Personal Lines Premiums Remain Lower than U.S. Average
Aug 5 2009 // The Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) recently reported that premiums for homeowners and auto insurance in that state remain lower than the U.S. average. On its Web site, www.ohioinsurance.org, the OII released the following...
U.S., Colorado Forecasters Trim Atlantic Hurricane Forecasts Again
Aug 5 2009 // The Colorado State University storm research team cut its 2009 Atlantic hurricane season forecast Tuesday, predicting that El Nino would trim the tally to 10 tropical storms, with four becoming hurricanes. The noted...
U.S. Transportation Agency to Hold Distracted Driving Summit
Aug 4 2009 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a September summit to address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel. In late September, senior transportation officials, elected...
Investments Hurt Some U.S. Captives But Underwriting Income Up Overall
Aug 3 2009 // U.S. captive insurers’ net income declined approximately 66 percent in 2008 for a composite of 186 captive companies represented in an A.M. Best Co. special report. This reflects realized losses of $1.2 billion for...
Couple Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review in Katrina Case
Aug 3 2009 // Lawyers for a Louisiana couple whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a jury’s award for allegations that an insurance company acted in bad faith when it denied...
AIG Selects Former MetLife CEO Benmosche as New CEO After Liddy
Aug 3 2009 // Troubled insurer American International Group Inc. has chosen former MetLife chief Robert Benmosche as its new CEO, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The AIG board approved the...
Why Bankruptcy Rates Vary By State
Aug 3 2009 // State Policies, More Than Differences Among People, Tend to Influence Bankruptcy Rates In a previous edition of Insurance Journal (July 20, 2009, “Tackling Client Bankruptcy: How to Help Clients Work Through the...
U.S. Launches Auto ‘Clunker’ Program
Aug 3 2009 // In what may prove to be boon for the U.S. auto industry and, by extension, Midwest states that have been adversely affected by auto manufacturer bankruptcies, the U.S. government launched its $1 billion cash incentive...
Home Values Down Across U.S. But Not Rebuilding Costs
Aug 3 2009 // Across America, home sales and values are down. But the costs to repair and rebuild homes have not followed. Rising reconstruction prices are contrary to the economic news of recent months and perhaps contrary to...
Business Moves
Aug 3 2009 // Met Life MetLife Inc. is combining its institutional and individual businesses, as well as its auto and home insurance unit, into a single U.S. business organization. William J. Mullaney, who has served as president of...
Why Bankruptcy Rates Vary By State
Aug 3 2009 // State Policies, More Than Differences Among People, Tend to Influence Bankruptcy Rates In a previous edition of Insurance Journal (July 20, 2009, “Tackling Client Bankruptcy: How to Help Clients Work Through the...
Why Bankruptcy Rates Vary By State
Aug 3 2009 // State Policies, More Than Differences Among People, Tend to Influence Bankruptcy Rates Twenty-four percent of agents and brokers have had business customers go into bankruptcy in the past two years; another 24 percent have...
Business Moves
Aug 3 2009 // SureTec Houston, Texas-based SureTec Insurance Co. announced that Greg Faulx has joined the company as vice president and will head its new regional office in Denver. Faulx was a key member of the original management team...
2nd ‘Stanford’ Suit Targets Willis; Terrorist Bombs Kill 9 in Indonesia; Insurance Fraud on the Rise in UK; Lloyd’s ‘Fli
Aug 3 2009 // Willis has been named in a second lawsuit stemming from its relation with indicted financier Allen Stanford. A Venezuelan investor, Reinaldo Ranni, filed a class action in U.S. federal court in Miami on July 17, accusing...
HRH Acquisition Helps Boost Willis’ Revenues by 19% in Q2
Jul 30 2009 // Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: WSH) reported the company’s total second quarter revenues were up by 19 percent, an increase due primarily to the HRH acquisition. Total reported revenues for the quarter ended...
How to Help Clients Work Through the Challenges of Business Bankruptcy
Jul 30 2009 // Bankruptcy. It’s a word agents and brokers will need to get used to hearing from their business clients. It’s not just occurring on Wall Street; it’s happening every day on Main Streets across the country...
Some Question Michigan Judge’s Refusal to Recuse in Insurance Case
Jul 29 2009 // A Michigan Supreme Court justice’s decision not to recuse herself from a case that pertains to her husband’s profession contradicts the spirit of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on when judges should step...
U.S. and China Sign Memorandum on Climate Change
Jul 29 2009 // The United States and China, the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, signed an agreement Tuesday that promises more cooperation on climate change, energy and the environment without setting firm...
