Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
SCOR Acquires XL Life America
Jul 23 2009 // SCOR Global Life US (SGL U.S.), a wholly-owned subsidiary of France’s SCOR Group, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire XL Re Life America Inc. (XLRLA), a subsidiary of XL Capital Ltd. The total consideration...
Ratings Recap: QBE (US), Triangle, Zurich (US) Subsidiaries
Jul 22 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A+’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to QBE Specialty Insurance Co. (QSIC) with a stable outlook. “We view QSIC to be a...
Securities Class Actions Decline; More Foreign Firms Targeted
Jul 22 2009 // Federal securities class action activity declined in the first half of 2009, with a particularly significant decline in the second quarter. According to Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and...
Best Affirms Munich Re, Subs ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
Jul 21 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Munich Reinsurance Company (Munich Re) and its subsidiaries. Best also...
Asia-Pacific Nations Decry First-world Protectionist Policies
Jul 21 2009 // Some Asia-Pacific nations criticized U.S. and other developed world protectionism on Tuesday at a meeting aimed at spurring a global trade pact and revitalizing the global economy. Thai Commerce Minister Pornthiva Nakasai,...
U.S. Reinsurers Post $26.4B in Net Premiums for 2008
Jul 21 2009 // For 2008, the U.S. reinsurers reported net premiums written of $26.4 billion, premiums earned of $25.9 billion, according to the Reinsurance Association of America’s “Reinsurance Underwriting Review: 2008...
Bankruptcy Terms to Know
Jul 20 2009 // Bankruptcy: General bankruptcy is a legal process that provides relief to those who can no longer pay all of their debts. The goal of the bankruptcy laws is to give debtors a “fresh start” by releasing debtors...
Insurance Broker Willis Targeted in Second Suit Over Stanford Bank
Jul 20 2009 // A Venezuelan investor has sued global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd over the collapse of the Stanford banking empire, saying he relied on assurances from Willis that Stanford was sound. The lawsuit, filed as a...
Business Moves
Jul 20 2009 // AIG, 21st Century Insurance, Farmers Group Inc. American International Group has closed the sale of 21st Century Insurance Group, the wholly owned subsidiaries of AIG’s U.S. personal auto insurance business, to...
Japanese Agents Tour U.S. Agencies to Learn Best Practices
Jul 20 2009 // Most of Japan’s 300,000 Agencies Are Small, But They Are Dreaming Big ‘I’-Like The owners and producers of Japan’s estimated 300,000 insurance agencies can only dream of the success and freedom that...
Property/Casualty Industry’s Earnings Down 87% in Q1
Jul 20 2009 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net income fell 87 percent to $1.2 billion in the first three months of 2009, according to A.M. Best. “The year-over-year decline in earnings was due primarily to the...
U.S. Unveils ‘Spy Images’ of Arctic Ice in Rare Move Linked to Climate Change
Jul 17 2009 // In an unusually speedy move, a U.S. government agency released more than a thousand intelligence images of Arctic ice just a few hours after the National Academy of Sciences recommended the action to help scientists study...
Best Affirms Allied World and Operating Affiliates ‘A’ Ratings
Jul 16 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 Allied World Assurance Company and its operating affiliates....
MetLife to Combine U.S. Insurance Operations Into Single Unit
Jul 15 2009 // MetLife, Inc. said that it is combining its institutional and individual businesses, as well as its auto and home insurance unit, into a single U.S. business organization. The company said this move stems from a strategic...
Best Affirms Omega Specialty, Lloyd’s Syndicate 958 Ratings
Jul 15 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Bermuda-based Omega Specialty Insurance Company Limited (OSIL), both with stable...
First Senate Committee Approves Version of Health Care Reform
Jul 15 2009 // The Senate health committee Wednesday approved its version of legislation to overhaul the U.S. health industry, which is to be combined with a bill yet to be written in the Senate Finance Committee. The...
<em>Analysis:</em> U.S. Small Business Funding Dry, Getting Drier
Jul 14 2009 // U.S. small businesses, already facing the toughest credit conditions since the 1980s, may soon find things are about to get tougher. Concerns over the future of CIT Corp. — a major lender to small businesses —...
Fewer Drunk Drivers on U.S. Roads; Concern Rises Over Drugged Drivers
Jul 13 2009 // A new roadside survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms a continuing decline in the percentage of legally intoxicated drivers. In 1973, 7.5 percent of drivers had a blood alcohol concentration...
Document Indicates US SEC, CFTC to Police OTC Derivatives
Jul 10 2009 // U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to propose on Friday giving securities and futures regulators authority to police the largely unregulated over-the-counter derivatives market, according to a document...
Web Site Estimates Hurricane Damages If Old Storms Returned Today
Jul 10 2009 // Today marks the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the panhandle of Florida with sustained winds of 120 m.p.h. While Dennis inflicted more than $2.2 billion in damage in 2005...
