Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Cat Bond Market Still Seeking Collateral Solution
Jun 29 2009 // Insurers are still seeking a universal solution to weaknesses in catastrophe bonds exposed by Lehman Brothers’ collapse, though structural improvements have helped push sales past $1 billion this year. This...
U.S. House Panel to Bring Homeowners Insurance Crisis Hearing to Florida
Jun 26 2009 // A subcommitee of the U.S. House of Representatives that is looking into trouble spots in the country’s homeowner insurance market is coming to Florida in July. House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations...
Report: Public Option Added to Private Plans Could Slow Health Costs
Jun 25 2009 // A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said...
Best Affirms Wind River Re’s ‘A’ Ratings, Stable Outlook
Jun 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Bermuda-based Wind River Reinsurance Company, Ltd. and its U.S....
South Texas Brokers Charged with Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud
Jun 25 2009 // Two licensed insurance brokers with offices in the Brownsville, Texas, area have been charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud in a multi-million dollar scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. The U.S....
Ratings: Argo Re, Heddington, La Colonial, Trinidad & Tobago, Lancashire, Brit
Jun 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Bermuda-based Argo Re Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiaries. Best also affirmed the ICR...
Steamship Mutual Publishes 2009 ‘Management Highlights’
Jun 24 2009 // Steamship Mutual, a major Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Club, has released its 2009 Management Highlights. “The visual theme of the Highlights this year is the illustration of Steamship Mutual’s...
Obama Flexible But Says Public Health Option Would Control Costs
Jun 24 2009 // President Barack Obama said Tuesday his healthcare overhaul needed a public insurance option to enforce market “discipline,” but stopped short of saying he would veto legislation without one. Obama, who has...
SEC Rejects Madoff Customer Damage Claim for $1.7 Million; Lawsuit Likely
Jun 24 2009 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected an attempt by a Bernard Madoff customer to get the agency to pay $1.7 million she lost in the fraud, setting the stage for a federal lawsuit, the investor’s...
AIU Holdings Names Schimek Global CFO; Vows No Breakup of P/C Group
Jun 24 2009 // AIU Holdings, the property/casualty division of insurer AIG and one of the world’s largest commercial insurers, has tapped Robert Schimek to be its first global chief financial officer, a role that includes preparing...
Best Affirms Fairfax, Subs Ratings
Jun 23 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” and the unsecured debt ratings of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, as well as the financial strength ratings (FSR) of...
Texas Court: Employer Not Liable for Fatigued Worker’s Off Duty Activity
Jun 23 2009 // The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that employers generally do not owe a duty to third parties for the activities of off duty employees that occur away from the work site, even if those activities ultimately lead to a...
Veterans Denied Damages from Government Computer Breach
Jun 22 2009 // Two Vietnam veterans are not entitled to damages from a 2007 Department of Veterans Affairs computer security breach in Birmingham, Ala., a federal appeals court panel in Georgia has ruled. Jim Henry Perkins and Jessie...
AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: AIG Never Involved in Management of Starr
Jun 22 2009 // Former American International Group Inc. chief Maurice “Hank” Greenberg told a federal jury on Friday that his former company at no time played a role in the management of Starr International, a private company...
AIG’s Taiwan Life Insurer Drawing Interest From J.C. Flowers, Fubon
Jun 19 2009 // Several U.S. private equity firms and Taiwanese financial groups are showing early interest in the sale of AIG’s Taiwan life insurance unit, banking sources said on Friday, in a deal the seller hopes could raise...
AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: Worries About Privately-Funded Pension Plan
Jun 19 2009 // International Group Inc. had questioned for years a retirement bonus plan for top managers because it was funded by a private company at no cost to AIG and that may have violated good governance standards, AIG’s...
Employers Holdings To Be Added to S&P 600
Jun 19 2009 // Reno, Nev.-based Employers Holdings Inc. announced Standard & Poor’s will add it to the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. The S&P 600 is considered the preferred small capitalization-market index in the United...
Gov. Manchin Names Commission to Study West Virginia Judiciary
Jun 18 2009 // Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will serve as honorary chair of a new study of West Virginia’s judiciary commissioned by Gov. Joe Manchin, the governor announced. Manchin named...
AIG Picks Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley for Joint AIA IPO Role
Jun 18 2009 // Bailed out U.S. insurer American International Group has chosen Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley as its joint global coordinators for a more than $4 billion IPO of its Asian life insurance unit, sources said on...
AIG vs. Greenberg Trial: Stock Flown to Bermuda to Avoid Seizure
Jun 18 2009 // The former head of ailing U.S. insurance giant AIG told a court Wednesday that he had a private jet fly a large block of the company’s stock to Bermuda from New York to prevent AIG from seizing it. “It was a...
