Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Sees No Rating Change for Munich Re from HSB Acquisition
Dec 29 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has commented that the financial strength rating (FSR) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of Munich Reinsurance Company and its subsidiaries are unchanged following its agreement to acquire specialty insurer HSB...
Despite Financial Crisis, Climate Change Concerns Continue
Dec 29 2008 // “This year’s climate change agenda has, if nothing else, highlighted that next year will be hard going for those wishing to set global agreement for action against climate change,” states a recent article...
Workplace Injury Rates Lower for Foreign-born Workers, Study Finds
Dec 24 2008 // A new study funded by U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that foreign-born workers reported a lower rate of non-fatal work-related injuries than U.S.-born workers, based on data collected from...
Ratings Recap: Aspen, Munich Re (Malta), Qatar, Nissan, CMI, Takaful, Int’l.
Dec 23 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Aspen Insurance UK Limited (AIUK) and Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Limited...
Deluge of Lawsuits by Angry Madoff Investors Expected
Dec 23 2008 // There has been no rush to the courthouse yet by Bernard Madoff’s angry investors, but a wave of legal action could be on the way as their lawyers spearhead private investigations into the suspected fraud. A little...
U.S. Insurers Increasingly Outsourcing Actuarial Work to Overseas Talent
Dec 23 2008 // U.S. insurers and actuarial firms increasingly are outsourcing, offshoring, and importing actuarial talent from abroad, industry experts report. They are also learning that good management practices and an understanding of...
Insurer is ‘Torturing’ Policy Using Pollution Exclusion to Deny Death Claims
Dec 22 2008 // U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal in Houston has been called upon to rule if Great American Insurance Co. is acting within policy and contract language and in accordance with the required utmost good faith in asserting...
U.S. Safety Agency Wants Coal Mines to Develop Communications Plan
Dec 22 2008 // America’s 600 underground coal mines would have to spend an estimated $278 million installing sophisticated electronic communications and tracking equipment under a new federal proposal requiring operators to file...
Zurich Gaining Commercial Insurance Clients Away from Rivals
Dec 22 2008 // Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Group is drawing U.S. commercial clients away from financially beleaguered rivals, a company executive for North America said on Friday. “We have seen higher submissions and...
Gallagher Stocks Up; M&A Activity Steady
Dec 21 2008 // Stock Prices: Arthur J. Gallagher’s stock price remarkably continues to hold strong as many stocks are experiencing historical declines. Gallagher is up 6.5 percent for the year. M&A Activity: Brokerage activity...
2008: A Year of Financial Storms
Dec 21 2008 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year, the industry witnessed the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft...
The View From London
Dec 21 2008 // Insurers Can Weather Global Financial Crisis Buyers that aren’t buying; houses that aren’t selling, banks that aren’t lending — sound familiar? But in this case it’s the United Kingdom that...
Canada’s Maple Leaf Reaches Deal to Settle Listeria Lawsuits
Dec 19 2008 // Maple Leaf Foods said Thursday it has agreed to settle class-action lawsuits related to an outbreak of listeriosis food poisoning caused by contaminated deli meats processed at its Toronto plant. The settlement, which...
Dunmoyer to Lead State Government Affairs for Farmers, Zurich in U.S.
Dec 19 2008 // Farmers Insurance Groups of Companies and Zurich Financial Services announced Dan Dunmoyer, who recently served as chief cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has...
Best Upgrades Allianz (US) Ratings to ‘A+’; Affirms Fireman’s Fund
Dec 19 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “aa” from “a” of Allianz Global...
IAG to Exit UK Mass Market
Dec 18 2008 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced that it has agreed to sell its mass market distribution businesses in the UK for a total value of £73.5 million (approximately A$165 million – US$113.74...
SEC Moves to Regulate Some Equity Indexed Annuities
Dec 18 2008 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Wednesday to begin scrutinizing annuities linked to equity indexes, a complex financial product the agency says falls into a regulatory no-man’s land. The 4-1 vote...
Lawsuit Seeks to Stop U.S. Bailout of AIG as Anti-Christian, Anti-U.S.
Dec 16 2008 // A Michigan–based Christian rights group has filed suit against the federal government claiming the government’s loan to insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is illegal because AIG has financial...
AIG Sells Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio to Government
Dec 16 2008 // American International Group’s life insurance companies have sold residential mortgage-backed securities with a face value of $39.3 billion to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) as part of its efforts to...
S&P: Challenging Times Loom For U.S. Insurers in 2009
Dec 15 2008 // The deteriorating U.S. economy – with its waves of layoffs, dislocations in the credit and equity markets, and falling home prices – will present a challenge in 2009 for almost every domestic business sector,...
