Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Auto Insurers Seek to Attract Latinos
Jun 16 2008 // Majority of Advertising Appearing in Spanish-Language Media Automobile insurers are hungering for the Hispanic market’s premium dollars, according to a report by Hispanic Market Weekly that analyzed marketing and...
Anti-Bias Laws Cover Retaliation Claims, U.S. Supreme Court Rules
Jun 16 2008 // Employees who complain of racial bias in the workplace and then face retaliation can sue under a post-Civil War-era law barring discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late May. In a second similar decision, the...
Foreign Insurers Look at Potential Acquisitions in a Weakened U.S. and E.U.
Jun 16 2008 // Asian Insurers May Buy in U.S., E.U.; Bermuda Beefs Up Regulators; Zurich Favored for Acquisition Asian insurers may go on a buying spree. A number of companies, particularly China’s major players, are likely to...
