Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
K2 Insurance of U.S. to Acquire UK’s Pioneer Underwriters
Feb 5 2020 // California-based specialty insurance holding company K2 Insurance Services is acquiring London-based Pioneer Underwriters. Pioneer will form the cornerstone for a new international platform of K2. This will initially...
California Leads Nation in Surplus Lines Premiums on 5th Year of Record Growth
Feb 4 2020 // Premium data from all surplus lines stamping offices for 2019 shows that California once again led the nation in total surplus line premiums, possibly boosted by construction spending and wildfires. The Surplus Line...
FDA Hearing to Address Testing of Talcum Powders, Cosmetics for Asbestos
Feb 4 2020 // For the first time in nearly 50 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will examine asbestos testing for talc powders and cosmetics at a hearing on Tuesday. Regulators are taking a closer look after finding asbestos,...
As Economic Costs of Coronavirus Mount, China Accuses U.S. of Overreacting
Feb 3 2020 // The economic and diplomatic costs of China’s coronavirus epidemic mounted on Monday with investors knocking $400 billion off the value of stocks and the government accusing the United States of over-reacting to the...
Airlines Under Pressure to Halt Flights to China; Update on Cancellations
Jan 31 2020 // Pilots and flight attendants are demanding airlines stop flights to China as health officials declare a global emergency over the rapidly spreading coronavirus, with American Airlines’ pilots filing a lawsuit seeking...
EPA Again Declares Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Not Carcinogenic
Jan 31 2020 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the...
Global Coronavirus Cases Soar to 10,000 as WHO Declares Health Emergency
Jan 31 2020 // The U.K. confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus on Friday, while the U.S. and Japan advised citizens to avoid traveling to China. Singapore suspended visas issued to Chinese citizens. Stocks fell in Europe and Asia...
Facebook to Pay $550M to Settle Biometric Privacy Violation Claims
Jan 30 2020 // In what the plaintiffs’ lawyers are calling the largest cash settlement ever resolving a privacy related lawsuit, Facebook has agreed to establish a fund of $550 million to pay Facebook users in Illinois claiming the...
Where Purdue Pharma-Sackler Legal Maters Stand Now
Jan 30 2020 // OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its controlling Sackler family have been negotiating with cities, counties and states on a proposed settlement worth an estimated $10 billion to resolve more than 2,600 lawsuits...
With Premiums Up Due to Accidents, Chemical, Refinery Plants Cut Back on Insurance
Jan 30 2020 // U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants are cutting back on insurance because several years of severe accidents have driven up the cost of coverage, industry and insurance sources said. With less insurance coverage for...
Brexit Day Is Finally Here; Now the Hard Part Begins: Opinion
Jan 30 2020 // London and Brussels are two hours apart by train but on Friday, the day the U.K. officially leaves the European Union, the two cities will feel worlds apart. The Brits are planning a Brexit celebration worthy of a...
Houston-Area Manufacturer to Pay $35K to Settle Sex Harassment, Retaliation Suit
Jan 30 2020 // A plastics manufacturer in the Houston area has agreed to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit for $35,000. Element Plastics Mfg. LLC, based in Sugar Land, Texas, has settled the suit filed by the U.S. Equal...
Opioid Kickback Probe Cites OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma: Reuters
Jan 29 2020 // OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is the unnamed company that surfaced in criminal charging documents filed earlier this week in a probe of illegal kickbacks from drugmakers, according to people familiar with the...
How should insurance commissioners get the job?
Jan 29 2020 // WARNING: This is a long one. Buckle in. Insurance Journal recently published an article detailing what action the Florida legislature is planning to take this year related to insurance. One item in particular caught my...
Beazley Adds Sanches as Underwriter in Southern California
Jan 29 2020 // Specialist insurer Beazley has appointed Justin Sanches as an underwriter within the U.S. healthcare liability team. Sanches joins Beazley’s Los Angeles, Calif., office to underwrite a range of global miscellaneous...
9 States Criticize Google’s Street View $13M Privacy Settlement
Jan 28 2020 // Attorneys general from nine states urged a federal judge to toss out Google’s $13 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit blaming its Street View mapping technology for a massive violation of consumer...
Cyber Attacks in Europe, Middle East Could Be Work of Turkey-Sponsored Hackers
Jan 27 2020 // Sweeping cyber attacks targeting governments and other organizations in Europe and the Middle East are believed to be the work of hackers acting in the interests of the Turkish government, three senior Western security...
Australian Insurers Should Be Able to Withstand Mounting Bushfire Claims: AM Best
Jan 27 2020 // Australian insurers are well-capitalized and should be able to withstand losses from the 2019/2020 bushfire season, aided by strong capital positions and support from reinsurance partners, said AM Best. The ratings agency...
How China’s Coronavirus Will Test the U.S., Too: Opinion
Jan 27 2020 // As the Wuhan coronavirus spreads to America, it now seems quite possible the United States will face some considerable logistical challenges. Even if the virus turns out not to be very deadly, or mutates into a safer form,...
Internet Firms’ Liability Shield on Justice Department Meeting Agenda
Jan 27 2020 // The U.S. Justice Department is planning to hold a conference to discuss the future of a federal law which largely exempts online platforms from legal liability for the material their users post, sources familiar with the...
