Latest USA Headlines

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

Converium Completes External Reserve Review; Share Issue to Raise $420 Million

Aug 31 2004 // Zurich-based Converium Holding AG announced that an external reserve review, conducted by the actuarial consulting firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, confirms reserves to be “within a reasonable range of actuarial...

UPDATE: Category 3 Hurricane Frances Still Heading towards U.S.

Aug 31 2004 // The National Hurricane Center’s latest bulletin on Hurricane Frances, issued this morning, confirmed that the storm is a category 3 hurricane, packing winds near 125 mph (205 km/hr.) with higher gusts. The NHC said...

Tropical Storm Hermine Heads for Northeastern U.S.

Aug 30 2004 // Although Tropical Storm Hermine is currently around 450 miles (720 kms.) off the coast of North Carolina, its projected path puts it on a course for the Northeastern U.S. by later this week. Hermine isn’t a...

Hurricane Frances Heading towards U.S.

Aug 30 2004 // The National Hurricane Center in Miami is currently tracking Frances, another powerful storm, which could strike the U.S. mainland by the end of the week. Frances is packing sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) with...

MarketScout Honors U.S. Heroes

Aug 30 2004 // MarketScout’s Heroes! celebration has received tremendous support from leaders in the insurance and business community. On Sept. 11, 2004, MarketScout is honoring soldiers who have served on active duty in Iraq or...

Best Assigns Ratings to Lloyd’s Syndicate 1084

Aug 27 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has assigned its Syndicate Rating of “A” (Excellent) to Lloyd’s Syndicate 1084, managed by Chaucer Syndicates Ltd., and an issuer credit rating (ICR) of...

State Farm Again Asked Utah Court to Lower Civil Judgment Award

Aug 26 2004 // An insurance company that already won a $136 million reduction of a punitive damage award thinks that the $9 million it was ordered to pay is still too high. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. has appealed the...

ACE USA Forms ACEONLINE; Benson Named President

Aug 24 2004 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Companies, is creating a new unit, ACEONLINE, focusing on web-based distribution of insurance products that target the small to middle market. ACE...

Corporate Litigation in U.S. Growing Sharply for Large Companies

Aug 23 2004 // Believe it or not, American businesses may have become a tad less litigious in the past three years. In a new survey of national litigation trends by law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., the average number of cases...

Key Findings in the Fulbright U.S. Corporate Litigation Trends Survey

Aug 23 2004 // Top Five Litigation Concerns In-house counsel were asked to rank their top five areas of litigation exposure. The number one concern was labor and employment, with 62 percent identifying it as the chief cause of action....

Cigarettes Blamed for 1 of 4 Fire Deaths, More Than Any Other Cause

Aug 23 2004 // The number of fires caused by lighted tobacco products – almost always cigarettes – increased by 19 percent in the most recent year studied, according to research by the the National Fire Protection Association...

Fiduciary Liability: The Most Misunderstood of Management Exposures

Aug 23 2004 // In the early 1960s, life in the United States was lived at a slower pace. Transportation and communication required more time (and patience) and employees were more inclined to trust employers on issues relating to...

AIR Releases 2004 U.S. Storm, Terrorism Models

Aug 23 2004 // AIR Worldwide Corp. announced the release of its 2004 U.S. hurricane, earthquake, severe thunderstorm and terrorism models. The updated models reflect the latest scientific and engineering research into these perils, as...

People and Places

Aug 23 2004 // Robert Drew Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings announced the appointment of Robert Drew as CEO overseeing all Alabama operations – Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery. Drew, with Willis for 10 years, the...

People and Places

Aug 23 2004 // Chantelle Burton Chantelle Burton joined Heath Insurance Brokers in the company’s Houston office as a professional and financial services broker. Prior to joining Heath, Burton was an associate director at Myron...

People and Places

Aug 23 2004 // Robert Falsarella Robert E. (Bob) Falsarella has joined Santa Rosa, Calif.-based George Rothert Insurance Services as the firm’s newest senior underwriter. Falsarella, a commercial-lines underwriter, has a background...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Approves $500 Million St Paul Travelers Asbestos-Related Settlement

Aug 18 2004 // The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has issued an order granting approval of a $500 million settlement of almost all Johns Manville Corp. asbestos-related suits pending against the Travelers...

Former TWC Employee Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

Aug 18 2004 // U. S. Attorney Johnny Sutton reported that 55-year-old Irma M. Richie, a former Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) employee, her daughter, 35-year-old Mary A. Richie and son-in-law 35-year-old David Murillo pled guilty to...

Lloyd’s Opens West Coast Office in L.A.

Aug 17 2004 // Lloyd’s announced it is opening a West Coast office based in Los Angeles, whose principal goal will be to enhance the Lloyd’s trading platform in four Western States: California, Oregon, Washington and...

While Others Flee Dangerous Charley, Crews from MacDill Air Force Base Head Directly for the Storm

Aug 13 2004 // Mother Nature is poised to unleash hurricane-force winds and torrential downpours near Florida’s MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Bay Friday, Aug. 13 from Hurricane Charley. While most people at MacDill have battened...