Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Terrorism Insurance Extended to Four Airlines
Dec 29 2013 // U.S. government insurance that guarantees airlines are covered against terrorism and war was extended for four carriers, including Virgin America Inc., that otherwise would have lost coverage at the end of the...
Safety Improvements On Tap In Minnesota Highway Plan
Dec 27 2013 // One of the priorities of Minnesota’s highway plan for the next two decades calls for investing in safety-related road improvements. The Department of Transportation recently wrapped up a 20-year state highway...
Allstate Settles Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank Over Mortgage Securities
Dec 27 2013 // Deutsche Bank AG and Allstate Corp. settled a suit the insurer brought that accused the bank of misrepresentations and omissions in connection with loans backing $185 million in mortgage securities. Allstate sued the...
German Firms Not Liable Under U.S. Alien Tort Statute for Aiding Apartheid
Dec 27 2013 // A U.S. judge on Thursday said Daimler AG and Rheinmetall AG cannot be held liable for allegedly aiding and abetting South Africa’s former apartheid government in race-based attacks and injustices. The plaintiffs in...
Judge Rejects BP Complaint Over Proof of Economic Losses from Gulf Oil Spill
Dec 27 2013 // BP Plc lost a bid to require businesses to provide proof their economic losses were caused by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill under a $9.2 billion settlement over the disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New...
Ironshore Increases Capacity for Select U.S. Specialty Lines
Dec 24 2013 // Ironshore Inc. will be providing coverage of up to $50 million for selected U.S. casualty lines, as of January 1, 2014. Increased capacity, up from the current limits of $25 million, will be available in the U.S. for...
Massachusetts Pharmacy to Pay $100M to Victims of Meningitis Outbreak
Dec 24 2013 // Owners and insurers of a now-bankrupt Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak have agreed to pay more than $100 million to compensate victims, families of victims and creditors. The preliminary...
P/C Insurers Boost Bottom Line on Big Gain in Underwriting Through 9 Months
Dec 23 2013 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $43 billion in nine-months 2013 from $27.8 billion in nine-months 2012, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their...
Federal Reserve Allows Ally Financial to Keep Insurance Unit
Dec 23 2013 // Ally Financial Inc., the auto lender majority owned by the U.S. government, won regulatory approval to change its holding-company status, allowing the firm to keep an insurance business and a vehicle-auction website. The...
Judge Rejects Catholic Church Challenge to Obamacare Birth Control Coverage
Dec 23 2013 // The Catholic Church isn’t harmed by the U.S. Affordable Care Act’s requirement for providing employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives, a judge ruled, throwing out most of a lawsuit challenging the...
Best Places Canopius US Insurance Under Review
Dec 23 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has placed under review with developing implications the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Delaware-based Canopius US Insurance, Inc....
Best Downgrades Tower Group and Subs Ratings; Under Review/Negative
Dec 23 2013 // Last Friday, A.M. Best Co. downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to B (Fair) from B++ (Good) of the pooled and reinsured members of the Tower U.S. Pool. A.M. Best said the downgrade and other related actions take...
Insurance Questions, Lawsuits Arise in Wake of Target’s Data Breach
Dec 22 2013 // U.S. retail giant Target Corp. is busy dealing with the aftermath of the massive data breach that exposed account details of some 40 million credit and debit cards. Already, at least two lawsuits seeking class-action...
Happy Holidays: Target’s Message May Put Scare Into Firms Without Cyber Coverage
Dec 20 2013 // Target Corp.’s data breach headache may be an opportunity for insurance carriers, insurance agents, risk managers and businesses to spread the word about cyber risk – although the message is bit of a scary one. The...
Target Credit Card Breach a Reminder U.S. Lags in Personal Data Security
Dec 20 2013 // The security breach of credit and debit card data at Target Corp. is evidence of the increasing threats retailers face and a reminder that the U.S. lags behind much of the world in securing personal financial...
Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Challenges FEMA’s New Flood Maps
Dec 20 2013 // Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, led by Congressman Bill Keating, recently sent an open letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The lawmakers argued in their letter that when FEMA...
ABIR Applauds US-Bermuda Agreement to Share Tax Information
Dec 20 2013 // Bradley Kading, president and executive director of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), has praised an intergovernmental agreement signed by US Consul General Robert Settje and Bermuda Minister of...
Surplus of Capital Continues to Temper Property Rates: Marsh
Dec 19 2013 // The surplus of capital among insurers and reinsurers continued to have an overall softening effect in the U.S. property insurance market through the third quarter of 2013, Marsh said in a report. For the first nine months...
Toyota Camry Improves in Insurance Safety Test
Dec 19 2013 // Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry, headed for its 12th consecutive year as the best-selling car in the U.S., returned to Consumer Reports’ recommended list after showing improvement on an insurance-industry crash...
BP Seeks Halt to Oil Spill Payments to Seafood Firms, Alleges Attorney Fraud
Dec 18 2013 // BP Plc asked a U.S. judge to stop payments in the $2.3 billion seafood-industry portion of its settlement over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill pending an investigation of fraud claims against a plaintiffs’...
