Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Scientist Urges Emmissions Tax to Cut Greenhouse Gasses

Jun 24 2008 // The scientist who 20 years ago first told Congress that the Earth’s climate was warming said Monday that urgent action was needed to cut greenhouse gases and proposed a tax on carbon emissions. James Hansen, the...

ACE Comments on Impact of Midwest Floods on Crop Insurance Results

Jun 24 2008 // Bermuda-based ACE Limited has announced that, based on current estimates, the impact of the recent floods in the Midwestern U.S. “will have a negligible impact on both second quarter and full-year earnings per share...

Feds Warn 16 Mining Companies over Safety Issues

Jun 23 2008 // Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration officials said they told 16 U.S. mining companies they have patterns of violating health and safety rules and warned them to clean up their acts or face heightened...

Levees Hold Back Cresting Mississippi River; Aid Requests Mount

Jun 23 2008 // Walls and levees held back the cresting Mississippi River Sunday as requests for government aid poured in from homeowners and businesses swamped by the worst Midwest flooding in 15 years. Across from St. Louis, where the...

Port of New Orleans Braces for Storm Season with Satellite Office

Jun 23 2008 // The Port of New Orleans has set up a “satellite” office and taken steps in case another storm strikes the southern Louisiana coast during the 2008 hurricane season, an official said Friday. “We’ve...

Parents Sue Companies Over Baby Bottles

Jun 20 2008 // Four Ohio parents have filed a federal lawsuit against makers of baby bottles, claiming the bottles were made from a harmful chemical that sparked congressional hearings and prompted the world’s largest retailer to...

Insurance to Cover Settlement Between Okla. Town, Mentally Ill Man’s Estate

Jun 20 2008 // Officials in a Tulsa, Okla., suburb and the estate of a mentally ill man have settled a federal lawsuit over his August 2002 fatal shooting by police, officials said. Insurance coverage for the city of Owasso will cover...

Ratings Recap: Markel Int’l. & Lloyd’s Syndicate, Lancashire, Caribbean Alliance, Globe Re

Jun 20 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of the UK-based Markel International Insurance Company Limited (MIICL) with...

China-U.S. Release Results of Strategic Economic Talks

Jun 19 2008 // The United States and China wrapped up two days of talks on Wednesday under a so-called “strategic economic dialogue” set up two years ago to ease tensions over trade and economic issues. They reported the...

Marsh Previews Report on Captives; Finds Higher Retentions

Jun 19 2008 // Marsh has released key findings from its Financial Institutions – Captive Benchmarking Analysis report, to be published in September. The bulletin described the study as the “most in-depth review of the use of...

Analyst Sees U.S. Insurers’ Q2 Hurt by Flood Claims

Jun 19 2008 // A group of insurers who cover farmers in the event of catastrophe-driven losses are facing their worst claims in 15 years due to flooding in the Midwest, said a Lehman Brothers analyst, who cut second-quarter earnings...

McCain, GOP Governors Split Over Disaster Fund

Jun 19 2008 // A congressional proposal to create a national “catastrophe fund” to help states recover from natural disasters has put Republican presidential hopeful John McCain at odds with a handful of GOP governors —...

S&P: Pros And Cons of a U.S. Federal Natural Catastrophe Backstop

Jun 18 2008 // Because of a natural catastrophe’s high cost to society, some believe that the U.S. federal government should provide a program to backstop losses for natural catastrophes, said an article published by Standard...

Insurers Could Be Hit by U.S. Midwest Crop Loss Claims

Jun 17 2008 // Insurers who sell coverage compensating farmers in the event of damage to their crops could be hit by claims from severe flooding in parts of the U.S. Midwest, according to an analyst report. While it is too soon to know...

U.S. Risk Offers In-Store Medical Clinic Coverage

Jun 17 2008 // U.S. Risk Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. launched Quick Clinic, a new comprehensive insurance product for in-store medical Clinics. “Quick Clinic is designed to offer comprehensive and turn-key...

Willumstad Replaces Sullivan as AIG CEO

Jun 16 2008 // American International Group, the world’s biggest insurer [by capitalization], replaced CEO Martin Sullivan on Sunday, June 15, after it suffered two quarters of record losses from risky mortgage bets and its share...

Travelers Hires Woodward

Jun 16 2008 // The Travelers Cos. Inc. has named Joan Kois Woodward executive vice president for public policy, effective immediately. Woodward, who will be based in Washington, D. C., joins the company from Goldman Sachs & Co.,...

Ratings: Commerce, Aspen, Med Mutual, Kodiak, Hermitage, ProAssurance, US Liability, Provident, Hereford, Polish Roman

Jun 16 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Commerce Group, its lead company, The Commerce Insurance Company, and four...

Extended Family

Jun 16 2008 // Beyond the family with two parents and 2.5 kids, there is another America: About 9 percent of U.S. of households are headed by single parents. Of these 13 million one-parent families, about 20 percent are single-father...

Business Moves

Jun 16 2008 // Max Specialty, Guaranty Casualty Max Specialty Insurance Co., of Richmond, Virginia, the U.S. excess and surplus lines unit of Max Capital Group Ltd., reports it has acquired Commercial Guaranty Casualty Insurance Co., an...