Latest USA Headlines

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

Zurich Estimates Claims of US$700M from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma & Maria

Oct 19 2017 // Zurich Insurance Group estimates that Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will aggregate claims in the third quarter of approximately US$700 million, net of reinsurance and before tax. After tax, the losses are expected to...

U.S. Healthcare Sector Plagued by Cyber Breaches Caused by Human Error: Beazley

Oct 19 2017 // Whether it is an email sent to the wrong recipient, discharge instructions given to the wrong patient, or a server containing protected health information (PHI) accidentally left open to the public, healthcare entities...

Compensation for London’s Grenfell Fire Victims May Be Capped at $5M: Reuters

Oct 18 2017 // The bill for compensating families of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire in London may be as low as 4 million pounds ($5 million), according to several lawyers and a Reuters analysis of how damages laws apply in...

Experts: Forget Government, Companies Must Step up to Combat Cyber Threats

Oct 17 2017 // Don’t rely on the U.S. government to protect your business from cyber threats. That was the consensus among experts speaking about cyber programs at a risk management conference on Tuesday. “The U.S. government...

U.S. Homeowners’ Premiums Grow Despite Insurers’ Decreasing Return on Equity: Aon Benfield

Oct 17 2017 // When this year’s results are tallied, direct U.S. homeowners’ insurance premiums will have continued to grow, despite a decreasing return on equity for insurers. According to Aon Benfield’s annual...

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Stirs Comparison to BP Disaster

Oct 17 2017 // An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last week may be the largest in the U.S. since the 2010 blowout at BP Plc’s Macondo well that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig. The Delta House floating production facility about 40...

Supreme Court to Rule on Email Privacy and Government’s Access to Servers

Oct 16 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to resolve a major privacy dispute between the Justice Department and Microsoft Corp. over whether prosecutors should get access to emails stored on company servers overseas. The...

Hiscox Re Offers Private Label Flood Insurance Endorsement for U.S. Insurers

Oct 16 2017 // Bermuda-based reinsurer Hiscox Re, along with insurance linked securities investors (ILS), has launched a flood insurance product for personal lines insurers to sell in the U.S. The turnkey flood insurance product, named...

S&P No Longer Expects Global Re Rate Drops at Jan. 1

Oct 16 2017 // A trio of third-quarter hurricanes and continued catastrophe losses impacting insurers and reinsurers will have a greater impact on reinsurers—and may potentially fuel reinsurance rate hikes at the Jan. 1, 2018 renewal...

Q3 Catastrophe Losses Will Bring Rate Hikes by London Market Insurers: Fitch

Oct 16 2017 // Catastrophe losses from the recent U.S. hurricanes and Mexican earthquakes will lead to price rises on London market insurers’ loss-affected lines and could also affect wider market pricing trends, according to Fitch...

Liberty Mutual Insurance Tailors Policy for Tesla Electric Car Drivers in U.S.

Oct 16 2017 // Tesla Inc. is partnering with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. to offer an auto-insurance plan designed specifically for its electric cars in the U.S. The plan made available to U.S. customers starting Friday is similar to...

Getting Highly Automated Vehicles on the Road

Oct 16 2017 // A number of current vehicle safety standards are blocking the development of the more sophisticated self-driving cars and trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration promulgates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety...

The Complicated Risk Exposures of Property Managers and Investors

Oct 16 2017 // What you hear on the radio and TV about “flipping,” renting, or managing residential or commercial properties and reality are two different worlds. The lives of property managers and real estate investors are...

Trump Defends Killing Off Obamacare Subsidies; 18 States Sue in Uphill Battle

Oct 15 2017 // Eighteen U.S. states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop him from scrapping a key component of Obamacare, subsidies to insurers that help millions of low-income people pay medical expenses,...

Argo Names The Hartford’s Higley to Head U.S. Property, Inland Marine

Oct 13 2017 // Specialty insurer Argo Group International Holdings has appointed David Higley as head of U.S. property and inland marine. Higley will report to Ron Vindivich, president, E&S, Colony Specialty, and will lead the...

Ireland Readies for Hurricane Ophelia, One of Its Strongest Storms in 50-Plus Years

Oct 13 2017 // Ophelia strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane forecast to strike Ireland, where one of the nation’s strongest storms in half a century threatens everything from farms to a golf course owned by the family of U.S....

House Approves $36.5B Disaster Aid with Puerto Rico, Wildfires, Flood Insurance Funds

Oct 12 2017 // The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved $36.5 billion in emergency relief for hurricane-hit Puerto Rico and other areas that have suffered recent disasters. In addition to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico,...

Developers Built Homes Inside Houston’s Reservoirs. But No One Warned Buyers.

Oct 12 2017 // Note: This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune and ProPublica. When Jeremy Boutor moved to a master-planned community in Houston’s booming energy corridor, he saw it as idyllic. Lakes on Eldridge...

$36.5 Billion House Disaster Aid Bill Includes Funds for Puerto Rico, Wildfires, Flood Insurance

Oct 12 2017 // House lawmakers unveiled a bill Tuesday night that would provide $36.5 billion in emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief requested by the Trump administration. With Congress under pressure to provide urgent...

Kobe Steel Can Expect Spate of Lawsuits for Its 10 Years of False Data

Oct 12 2017 // Kobe Steel Ltd.’s legal problems are just beginning in wake of the company’s disclosure that it falsified data for years about the durability of aluminum and copper used in airplanes, trains and vehicles. The...