Latest USA Headlines

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

Argo Surety to Issue Surety Bonds in Europe for U.S. Clients

Dec 5 2013 // Argo Surety, a division of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd., now has the capability to issue surety bonds throughout the European Union (EU). Policies will be written through Argo Group’s European subsidiary,...

Lawsuits Challenging Obamacare Cite Religion, Tax Issues

Dec 5 2013 // Hours after the University of Notre Dame filed a religious challenge to the U.S. health-care overhaul in Indiana federal court, a judge in Washington heard arguments in a lawsuit assailing tax provisions of the...

Anadarko, BP Seek Reversal of Oil Spill Clean Water Act Ruling

Dec 5 2013 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and BP Plc asked an appeals court to throw out a judge’s finding that both companies were liable under the U.S. Clean Water Act for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl...

Court Shields Developers From Terrorism-Related Damages in 9/11 Case

Dec 5 2013 // A federal appeals court in New York has given developers and builders of high-rises and other buildings added protection from lawsuits over property losses linked to terrorism, in a case stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001...

INTERVIEW-Greece, BlackBerry, Ireland – ‘Cautious’ Bets for Canada’s Fairfax

Dec 5 2013 // Bets on debt-ravaged Greece or ailing phone maker BlackBerry would make many investors flee, but for Prem Watsa both are part of a “cautious” strategy he employs to manage Fairfax Financial’s $23.3...

Reinsurers to Lower Prices Following Weak Hurricane Season: Fitch

Dec 4 2013 // The quietest U.S. Atlantic hurricane season in decades will lead to a low double-digit fall in related catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the key 2014 renewals, according to experts at Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency...

Metro-North Crash Seen Thwarting Delay of Automatic Braking

Dec 4 2013 // The deadly train derailment in New York City may force railroads to install automatic brakes by 2015 and dash industry efforts to put off adding the technology by five years. The Metro-North Railroad wreck may persuade...

Portrait of New Wealth: $3 Billion Miami Art Basel Fair

Dec 4 2013 // Art Basel Miami Beach, the largest U.S. art fair, will offer more than $3 billion of mostly postwar and contemporary works when it opens to a select group of collectors today, a 20 percent increase from two years ago. Held...

Sea-Level Rise Too Fast for Current Forecast Tools, Study Says

Dec 4 2013 // By the time climate change reduces crop yields or frequently floods New York City subways, it will be too late to avert damage without better forecasting tools, a panel of scientists said in a report released...

MarshBerry: Decreasing Agency Balance Sheet Value – Positive Impact?

Dec 3 2013 // Despite significant optimism about key market fundamentals, year-over-year agency valuation increases and agency performance metrics, ownership perpetuation continues to be the biggest long-term challenge to...

Aspen US Insurance Appoints AIG’s Menelly As Marketing Director

Dec 3 2013 // Aspen US Insurance has named Douglas Menelly as senior vice president of marketing. He will report to Bob Rheel, executive vice president and U.S. head of property/casualty for Aspen Insurance. Menelly joins Aspen with 14...

New York Metro-North Becomes Inquiry Magnet After Held Up as Rail Model

Dec 3 2013 // Two years after being singled out for international honors, Metro-North Railroad finds itself facing a wave of retirements, under three federal safety investigations, and explaining to officials and riders why a locomotive...

BP Wins Appeal Over Some Gulf Oil Spill Claim Payments

Dec 3 2013 // BP Plc won a legal reprieve in its effort to avoid payments to those whose losses were not traceable to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, potentially sparing the oil company of extra costs. BP had agreed in 2012 to make...

New York Metro-North Derailment Puts Spotlight on Rail Safety

Dec 2 2013 // A deadly derailment on a curve in Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line rekindled safety concerns and promised to snarl today’s commute for thousands of riders on one of New York’s major mass-transit...

Swiss Re’s Insurance Outlook for 2014/15 Sees Emerging Market Growth

Dec 2 2013 // In an assessment of the prospects for insurance market in 2014/15, Swiss Re’s latest report concludes that “global economic growth will continue to strengthen in 2014, which will in turn “support on-going...

Iran Oil Shipping Insurance Sanction Relief Not Likely Any Time Soon

Dec 2 2013 // A pledge by world powers to ease ship insurance sanctions on some Iranian oil exports is likely to take months to come into effect due to complex law and regulation and to insurers’ unease over providing cover. A...

Obamacare and Agency Value

Dec 2 2013 // Where is the Affordable Care Act headed? Are we prepared? Who will be covered and who won’t? Are we robbing from Peter to pay Paul? The list of questions is endless. The answers are few and far between. In a speech...

Lexington’s Johnson on U.S. Surplus Lines

Dec 2 2013 // The surplus lines industry experienced tough times in 2012. But that hasn’t been the story for 2013, says Jeremy Johnson, president of Lexington Insurance Co., a unit of AIG. In this interview with Insurance...

FEMA: No Extension for Filing Sandy Flood Insurance Suits

Dec 2 2013 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it cannot extend the deadline for Superstorm Sandy victims who may want to file lawsuits challenging a denial or disallowance of all or part of their federal flood...

People – Southeast

Dec 2 2013 // Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. announced that Michael Browne, president and chief operating officer of the Harleysville Insurance, a member of the Nationwide family of companies, will retire effective May 1,...