Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Swiss Re Estimates 2012 Economic Losses at $140 Billion; $65 Billion Insured
Dec 19 2012 // According to Swiss Re’s sigma preliminary estimates, economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will likely reach at least $140 billion in 2012, while total insured losses from natural...
Food Borne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions
Dec 19 2012 // One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread food borne illnesses is the determination of occurrence where multiple people in multiple states are...
Family of Slain Arizona Border Patrol Agent Sues Officials
Dec 18 2012 // The family of a slain Arizona Border Patrol agent has sued federal officials over the botched “Fast and Furious” gun operation, claiming they should have known it created a risk to law enforcement...
Ratings Roundup: Hiscox (U.S.), Bison, Nations
Dec 18 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) of Chicago-based Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc....
Talbot Appoints Schild as New Political Risk Underwriter
Dec 18 2012 // Talbot Underwriting Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Validus Holdings, Ltd., announced the appointment of Thomas Schild as Vice President, Political Risk Underwriter of Talbot Underwriting Services (US) Ltd. Talbot...
AIG May Raise up to $6.5 Billion through AIA Share Sale – Sources
Dec 17 2012 // American International Group may raise as much as $6.5 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd in Asia’s second-largest block sale ever, exiting a business the U.S. insurer started nearly 100...
Continued Drought, More Tornados Forecasted
Dec 17 2012 // Extreme weather events in 2013 may look much the same as this year — but different. The weather is difficult to predict, but if the weak El Niño forecast for next year holds, it brings with it the promise of continued...
Double-Digit Returns Absent From Year-End, 2013 Financial Forecasts
Dec 17 2012 // Although analysts following the property/casualty insurance industry expect underwriting results for 2012 to be better than 2011 when full-year numbers are tallied, double-digit overall returns-on-equity are still not...
Former Massey Mine Executive to Enter Plea Next Month
Dec 14 2012 // A former president of Massey Energy’s White Buck Coal Co. will enter a plea on federal conspiracy charges in January as prosecutors continue to investigate the 2010 explosion at another Massey operation that killed...
West Virginia Explosion Reminder of Risk of Natural Gas Pipelines
Dec 14 2012 // Nearly 15,000 miles of natural gas pipeline stretch across West Virginia, and as residents of this community north of Charleston now know, devastating explosions can happen without warning. Federal regulators say there...
Senate Deals Blow to Bank Deposit Insurance
Dec 14 2012 // Efforts by small banks to protect a financial crisis-era deposit insurance program suffered a significant setback on Thursday when a bill to extend the program failed to survive a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate. The...
Hiscox Appoints Keith for Bermuda Healthcare Team
Dec 14 2012 // Hiscox announced that “in response to growing opportunities in the US healthcare liability insurance market, Hiscox Bermuda’s healthcare team has appointed Justin Keith as Vice President –...
Allied World, Alteris Launch WineryPlus Program
Dec 13 2012 // Allied World U.S. and Alteris Insurance Services, Inc. have entered into an agreement to provide a coverage program to wineries in the United States. The program will be available to wineries of all sizes throughout the...
Report Shows Increasing Concentrations of Insured Property Values in U.S.
Dec 13 2012 // Insured building values in the U.S. now exceed $40 trillion — including residential, commercial and industrial structures, according to a new report from catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. When contents...
Only 15 States Plan to Operate Own Health Insurance Exchanges
Dec 13 2012 // Only 15 U.S. states plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama’s reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting prospect of creating and operating the new online marketplaces in at...
Commentary: AIG ‘Profits’ an Insult to the Concept
Dec 13 2012 // To say taxpayers made money from their investment in AIG is to libel the very concept of profit. Come to think of it, it may well be a gross insult to the idea of investment too. The Treasury Department announced on...
States Plan to Sue EPA Over Greenhouse Gas Regulations
Dec 12 2012 // A coalition of seven eastern states led by New York plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to issue new guidelines to curb methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that may be linked to climate...
Best Sees No Change in AIG’s Ratings from U.S. Treasury Share Sale, ILFC Deal
Dec 12 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has commented that the issuer credit rating of “bbb” of American International Group is unchanged following the announcement of the U.S. Treasury’s plan to sell its remaining holdings of...
U.S. SEC Charges N.J.-based Consultant with Fraud in Chinese Reverse Mergers
Dec 12 2012 // U.S. securities regulators charged a New Jersey-based consultant on Tuesday with defrauding investors in the China-based companies he helped make public through a backdoor method known as a “reverse...
U.S. Trade Rep Optimistic Trans-Pacific Talks Can Finish in 2013
Dec 12 2012 // U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Tuesday that he was optimistic a deal could be reached in Asia Pacific free-trade talks in 2013, even though tough issues remain. “It’s a negotiation. It will be very...
