Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Justice Department Alleges Yale Illegally Discriminates Against Asians, Whites
Aug 14 2020 // The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally discriminating against Asian American and white applicants in its undergraduate admissions process in violation of U.S. civil rights law. The...
Last Year Was Among Earth’s 3 Hottest Years on Record, Climate Report Shows
Aug 13 2020 // Last year will be remembered as among the world’s hottest, while greenhouse gases reached their highest levels on record, according to the 30th annual State of the Climate report. The international annual review of...
Expected La Niña Could Last Through 2020-21 Winter, Says U.S. Climate Center
Aug 13 2020 // A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday forecast the development of La Niña pattern during the August-October season, and is expected to last through the 2020-21 winter. There is a chance of about 60% that La...
Federal Reserve Policymakers See Slow Economic Growth Until Virus Contained
Aug 13 2020 // The U.S. economic recovery will be slow until the coronavirus is under control, and Americans will have to manage life with the virus for at least the next several months, three Federal Reserve policymakers said on...
Some 10M Acres of Iowa Farmland Impacted by Derecho Storm
Aug 12 2020 // The Derecho storm that hit the Midwest on Aug. 10 potentially impacted some 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of Iowa farmland and millions of bushels of grain storage in the top U.S. corn growing state, Iowa...
One80 Intermediaries Acquires Canadian MGA, Strategic Underwriting Managers
Aug 12 2020 // One80 Intermediaries, a Boston-headquartered wholesale broker, program manager, and insurance aggregator, announced it has acquired Strategic Underwriting Managers Inc. (SUM), a Canada-based managing general agent. Terms...
Secondary Perils Drive Global Insured Catastrophe Losses of $31B During H1: Swiss Re
Aug 12 2020 // Global insured property losses from disasters were US$31 billion in the first half of 2020, up from US$23 billion during the same period last year, according to Swiss Re Institute’s sigma estimates. Natural...
Federal Judge in Mississippi Calls On Supreme Court to Examine Qualified Immunity
Aug 12 2020 // A federal judge in Mississippi has issued a sharply worded ruling that calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the principle of qualified immunity, which protects law enforcement officers from being sued for some of...
Derecho Winds Tear Through U.S. Farmland, Leave 500K-Plus Without Power
Aug 11 2020 // A storm packing hurricane-force winds tore across the U.S. Midwest on Aug. 10, causing widespread property damage in cities and rural towns and leaving more than half a million homes and businesses without power. The storm...
Tropical Storms Could Set a Record at 25 This Season
Aug 11 2020 // The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last Thursday predicted up to 16 more named tropical storms this year, to as many as 25, the highest in the agency’s history. The 2020 Atlantic...
McConnell’s Coronavirus Liability Shield Could Be Bargaining Chip in Relief Negotiations
Aug 11 2020 // Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s insistence that legal liability protections for businesses, schools and colleges be included in any new coronavirus relief bill is approaching a moment of reckoning. Warning...
Insured Losses for Europe’s Storm Sabine (aka Ciara/Elsa) Estimated at €1.6B: PERILS
Aug 11 2020 // The industry loss footprint for extratropical cyclone “Sabine” – also known as “Ciara” and “Elsa” – is estimated at €1.61 billion (US$1.9 billion), according to PERILS, the...
Directors & Officers’ Insurance Rates Surge on Fears of Coronavirus Litigation
Aug 11 2020 // Premiums for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance surged in the second quarter, broker Marsh said on Monday, as insurance underwriters fear the coronavirus pandemic will lead to hefty litigation...
U.S. Drug Regulator Vows Outside Review of Any COVID-19 Vaccines
Aug 11 2020 // The United States will need to have independent experts review COVID-19 vaccine candidates before approval, the country’s top drug regulator said on Friday, offering reassurance that his agency would not cut corners...
Insured Losses From Hurricane Isaias Could Reach $4 Billion in U.S.
Aug 10 2020 // Hurricane Isaias likely caused $4 billion of insured losses in the U.S. and $200 million in the Caribbean, according to risk modelers at Karen Clark & Co. The estimates cover privately insured wind and storm surge...
Average Commercial Insurance Prices Rose 19% in Q2: Marsh Index
Aug 10 2020 // Global average commercial insurance prices increased 19% in the second quarter of 2020, the eleventh straight quarter they have risen. Average price increases were driven principally by increases in property insurance...
Chubb Names Lupica President, North America; Krump Vice Chair, Global Underwriting, Claims
Aug 10 2020 // Global insurer Chubb announced appointments to two new executive positions. Chubb has named John Lupica as president of North America Insurance, the company’s largest division. Lupica is currently vice chairman,...
Business Moves
Aug 10 2020 // East NFP, Team Scotti Insurance broker NFP has acquired LFG Inc., which does business as Team Scotti. The transaction closed effective Dec. 1. Team Scotti, based in Pittsburgh, Penn., and founded in 1987, is a national...
People & Places
Aug 10 2020 // National Aon announced that Brent Rieth is the new U.S. practice leader of the Cyber Solutions Errors and Omissions/Cyber Broking team. Rieth first joined Aon in 2009 as team leader of the E&O/Cyber broking effort for...
Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties Are Home to 32% of U.S. Businesses
Aug 10 2020 // As the 2020 hurricane season gets underway, emergency officials pay attention to the growing share (29%) of the U.S. population in the nation’s 255 coastline counties. They’re also looking at ways to minimize...
