Latest USA Headlines

A.M. Best: P/C Insurers Report Strong Gains for First Half of 2005

Oct 17 2005 // The U.S. property/casualty industry recorded an underwriting profit of $13.2 billion during the first six months of 2005, a substantial gain from the record results posted during the comparable period of 2004, according to...

People & Places

Oct 17 2005 // Vincent Liotta Willis Group Holdings has appointed Vincent D. Liotta as executive vice president and production director of the Willis Re U.S. Specialty Practice. Earlier this year Willis Re merged its Global Marine,...

Firefighter Fatalities Often Stress Related, Report Says

Oct 17 2005 // The United States Fire Administration has released the report, “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2004,” detailing the circumstances and trends found in the 117 firefighter deaths experienced by...

Oct 17 2005 // Willis Group Holdings has appointed Vincent D. Liotta as executive vice president and production director of the Willis Re U.S. Specialty Practice. Earlier this year Willis Re merged its Global Marine, Aviation, Retro and...

South Dakota

Oct 17 2005 // S.D. Farm Couple Pleads Guilty to $1.3 Million Scheme: A Rapid City, S.D. couple has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government out of more than $1.3 million in farm benefits. Connie...

FLORIDA

Oct 17 2005 // Former Agent Accused of Taking $92,000 Joel Berg, the former owner of J.B. Williams & Co. in Weston, Fla., and Seacoast Marine Insurance Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, was arrested for allegedly misappropriating more than...

Editor’s Note: A Silver Lining?

Oct 17 2005 // The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the tsunami of December 2004, Katrina, Rita, the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan/India. What can we make of all these man-made and natural catastrophes? They are bigger than...

Firefighter Fatalities, Cooking Fires Preventable, Reports Say

Oct 17 2005 // The United States Fire Administration has released the report, “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2004,” detailing the circumstances and trends found in the 117 firefighter deaths experienced by...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // New Reports Issued on Climate Change: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have focused more attention on global warming. The debate continues to rage over whether the higher temperatures and rising sea levels are a wholly natural...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // Katrina Churns in $34.4B in Losses: Hurricane Katrina is expected to cost U.S. property/casualty insurers an estimated $34.4 billion in insured property losses, making it the costliest U.S. catastrophe ever, according to...

Hurricane Watch Issued for Cayman Islands; Storm May Impact U.S.

Oct 16 2005 // After a slight lull in the Atlantic hurricane season, things may be heating up again. A hurricane watch was in effect for the Cayman Islands as a tropical depression churned through the Atlantic on a path that may threaten...

AIA Backs U.S. WTO Trade Negotiation Efforts; Looks for Opening of Markets

Oct 14 2005 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) on Friday commended U.S. trade negotiators for their efforts to revive World Trade Organization (WTO) talks and provide hope for the opening of global insurance markets. “We...

Fairfax Financial Comments on SEC, U.S. Attorney’s Investigation

Oct 12 2005 // Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has issued a brief statement clarifying its situation with regard to the ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the...

Heavy Rains Force Eastern U.S. Evacuations; Four Lives Lost

Oct 11 2005 // Prolonged, heavy rain caused flooding from North Carolina to New Hampshire over the weekend, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, knocking out electricity, weakening dams and making roads impassable. At least four...

ACE USA Forms Energy Risk Unit

Oct 10 2005 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, announced the formation of ACE Energy, a new retail business unit which will focus on serving the complex insurance needs of the U.S. energy...

Hub Acquires Chubb’s PLI Brokerage

Oct 7 2005 // Hub International Limited has completed its purchase of Personal Lines Insurance Brokerage, Inc. (PLI) from The Chubb Corporation. The acquisition grows Chicago-based Hub’s personal lines to nearly 20 percent of its...

Tillinghast: Hurricane Katrina Will Cost Record-Setting $40-$55B for Privately Insured Losses

Oct 6 2005 // Hurricane Katrina is expected to result in $40 to $55 billion in private insurance payments, according to a new white paper developed by the Tillinghast and Reinsurance businesses of Towers Perrin. Hurricane Katrina:...

Lloyd’s Reports First Half Profit

Oct 6 2005 // Lloyd’s announced an interim profit of 1.38 billion pounds Sterling ($2.47 billion) for the six month period ended June 30, 2005, a 21% increase compared to the same period in 2004. The severe hurricane season will...

AIG Investment Manager, Two Others Charged in Foreign Bribery Scheme

Oct 6 2005 // A managing director at an American International Group investment unit and two other investment advisors have been indicted for their part in an alleged bribery scheme in Azerbaijan. AIG, which says it was defrauded by the...

Aon: Private Insurance Market Will Fail Without Some Form of Public Backstop Against CAT Terror Losses

Oct 5 2005 // In anticipation of the Oct. 7, National Symposium on the Future of Terrorism Risk Insurance, Aon said Wednesday that the private insurance market cannot operate without some form of public backstop against catastrophic...