Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Chemical Firm BASF and Its Law Firm to Pay $72.5M to Close Talcum-Asbestos Claims
Jul 24 2020 // BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemical maker, and a law firm agreed to pay a combined $72.5 million to resolve claims they hid evidence that certain talc products contained asbestos in an effort to scuttle thousands...
Global Natural Catastrophe Losses During H1 Ranged from $68B to $75B: Munich Re, Aon
Jul 24 2020 // Munich Re and Aon both issued reports this week on the economic and insurance costs of global natural catastrophes during the first half, which varied in magnitude by $7 billion. While Munich Re estimated that natural...
New York Company to Pay $200K in Penalties for Safety Violations
Jul 24 2020 // A home and personal care fabric products manufacturer will correct hazards at its five manufacturing facilities in New York and pay $200,000 in penalties to resolve safety violations after an investigation by the U.S....
Insurers Exploring ‘New World’ of Police Officer Professional Liability
Jul 24 2020 // U.S. insurers and brokers are starting to craft professional liability coverage for police officers, spurred on by signs that policymakers in some cities and states want to use a financial stick to curb police...
Specialty Broker Offers Business Insurance Coverage for Pandemic, Epidemic Risks
Jul 23 2020 // A Boston-based national wholesale insurance broker is offering what it says is “among the first and most accessible” insurance policies for commercial risks arising from pandemics and epidemics. The policy,...
U.S. Cyber Insurers Face Changing Landscape; Top 20 Cyber Insurers
Jul 22 2020 // Cyber insurers have been enjoying a profitable run for several years but are now facing a changed risk landscape with data breaches, ransomware attacks, insurance claims and overall threat awareness increasing. In a...
QBE Expects H1 2020 Loss of US$750M on COVID-19, Natural Catastrophe Claims
Jul 22 2020 // QBE Insurance Group expects to report a first-half, after-tax loss of around $750 million, mainly due to COVID-19 claims and natural catastrophes, which included Australia’s bushfires and hailstorms at the beginning...
Former Comptroller Pleads Guilty to Stealing $259K from Louisiana Community College
Jul 21 2020 // The former comptroller for a community college in Louisiana has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $250,00 from her employer. Carol Bates, the former comptroller for Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC), pled guilty...
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Joins Insurance Crime Bureau Team
Jul 21 2020 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that Pat Martin has joined the association’s new general counsel. Martin is the former chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the...
January’s Hailstorms in Australia Cost Insurers an Estimated A$1.8B (US$1.3B): PERILS
Jul 21 2020 // The industry loss footprint for the January 2020 Australian hailstorms, which occurred Jan. 19-21, 2020, are estimated at A$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that...
Berkley Fire & Marine in Chicago Promotes Brickner, Adds Seich to Leadership Team
Jul 20 2020 // Berkley Fire & Marine, headquartered in the Chicago area, has promoted Debra Brickner to vice president of Claims and hired Mark Seich as vice president of Marketing, Sales & Distribution. Brickner has 15 years of...
3M Files 18 Lawsuits, Alleging Unlawful N95 Mask Sales
Jul 20 2020 // The leading manufacturer of N95 masks in the U.S. says it has investigated 4,000 reports of fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging in connection with the product and filed 18 lawsuits as a result. 3M, based in Maplewood,...
Risk of Airborne Coronavirus Adds to Challenge of Making Workspaces Safe
Jul 20 2020 // U.S. companies are raising new questions about how they can make workplaces safe after the world’s top public health agency acknowledged the risk that tiny airborne droplets of the novel coronavirus may contribute to...
U.S. Extends Ban on Cruise Ships Through September as Coronavirus Cases Rise
Jul 20 2020 // Federal health officials are extending the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end of September as coronavirus infections rise in most U.S. states, including Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Personal Lines Insurance Poised to Turn Profit in 2020 As Auto Claims Fall: Fitch
Jul 20 2020 // After a profitable 2019, the U.S. personal lines insurance sector is positioned to see underwriting profits in 2020 even with considerable economic uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from...
Lloyd’s to Exit U.S. Admitted Market to Focus More on U.S. Surplus Lines, Reinsurance Markets
Jul 20 2020 // Lloyd’s announced it plans to stop accepting admitted market accounts in the United States in a year and focus on the U.S. reinsurance and excess and surplus (E&S) insurance market, where it is the market...
Maryland Governor Announces $501M Unemployment Insurance Fraud Case
Jul 17 2020 // Maryland uncovered a massive criminal enterprise involving identity theft and more than 47,500 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in the state adding up to more than $501 million, Governor Larry Hogan said Wednesday,...
Investors, Insurers Warned of Risk of U.S. Sanctions for Russian Pipeline Ties
Jul 17 2020 // U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday warned investors in two Russian natural gas pipeline projects that they could face sanctions as the Trump administration seeks to curb the Kremlin’s economic leverage...
Hailstorm in June Was One of Canada’s Costliest Thunderstorm-Related Events: Aon
Jul 17 2020 // Canada saw powerful a series of powerful thunderstorms in June, which brought hail greater than the size of tennis balls and caused extensive damage and flooding throughout the greater Calgary metro region, said Aon in its...
A Look at the 32% of Businesses Located in Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties
Jul 17 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...
