Latest USA Headlines

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

Foodborne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions

Jan 28 2013 // One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread foodborne illnesses is the determination of occurrence where multiple people in multiple states are affected...

Court Considers Travelers Case Limiting Class Actions

Jan 28 2013 // The U.S. Supreme this month weighed whether to impose new limits on class-action lawsuits, as it reviewed whether a homeowner’s lawsuit against his insurer belonged in a state court considered friendly to...

Surplus Lines Regulatory Picture for 2013

Jan 28 2013 // State implementation of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), effective July 21, 2011, proceeded relatively smoothly during 2012, albeit with a few hiccups as industry and regulators navigated the transition...

Confie Eyes More Expansion, Push Into Standard Lines

Jan 28 2013 // In 2013 Confie Seguros plans to up its buying spree and expand into standard personal and small commercial lines, while broadening its demographic from being primarily Hispanic focused, the president of the Buena Park,...

Business Moves – Midwest

Jan 28 2013 // Willis North America Willis North America, a unit of global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, has relocated its Cleveland, Ohio office to 1001 Lakeside Ave., Suite 1600. Willis established a presence in Ohio more...

People – East

Jan 28 2013 // Marsh, the insurance broking division of N.Y.-based Marsh & McLennan Cos., appointed Brenda Shelly as the firm’s new U.S. directors and officers liability (D&O) product leader. Shelly, who has relocated from...

Federal Watchdog Issues Report on Gas Pipeline Safety

Jan 25 2013 // Federal regulators must account for response times in the data they collect from transmission operators on natural gas pipeline incidents, a congressional watchdog agency said this week. The U.S. Government Accountability...

Davos Strives to Make Climate Talk More than Hot Air

Jan 25 2013 // Climate change is back on the global agenda, with debate in the corridors at Davos given fresh impetus by U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon both highlighting it as top priority this...

Half of 2012’s Global Economic Losses Due to U.S. Natural Disasters: Aon

Jan 24 2013 // While global economic losses were close to average in 2012, insured losses last year were 36 percent higher than the 10 year average ($72 billion vs. $53 billion) because the two most costly events of the year occurred in...

Ratings Roundup: JRG Re, ASSA/Lion Re, TP Re

Jan 24 2013 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of Bermuda-based JRG Reinsurance Company, Ltd. and its U.S. affiliates,...

Wildfire Risk High in 2013 Due to Warm Weather, Drought, Warn Insurers

Jan 24 2013 // With a mild winter, relatively warmer weather in general, and drought conditions expected to continue in 2013, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is urging home and business owners to take action...

President Obama to Nominate White to Head SEC, Renominate Cordray for Consumer Bureau

Jan 24 2013 // President Barack Obama will nominate former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House said on Thursday, showing a desire to have a tough cop policing Wall...

Aon Benfield’s 2012 Cat Review Finds 36% Rise in Insured Losses at $133 Billion

Jan 24 2013 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has published its Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report along with the establishment of a new website, Catastrophe Insight,...

Texas Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Auto Insurers

Jan 24 2013 // A Bryan, Texas, chiropractor has entered a plea of guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud various automobile insurance companies of more than $3 million, according to United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Chase...

Ex-Stanford Executive Gets 5 Years in $7B Swindle

Jan 23 2013 // The star prosecution witness in the trial of convicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for helping to bilk investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the biggest Ponzi...

P/C Insurers See ORSA Value to Their Business: Survey

Jan 23 2013 // Many property/casualty insurers are beginning to implement pending Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) regulatory requirements in advance of their 2015 effective date and finding the process can be a valuable business...

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Retaliation Case Against Sears

Jan 23 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider whether Sears Holdings Corp. improperly fired a former supervisor who objected to how the retailer handled a sexual harassment probe she helped conduct. Without...

Migrants Could Qualify For Arizona Driver’s Licenses

Jan 22 2013 // Updated guidelines by federal authorities could possibly open the door for young illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses in Arizona. The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that those who receive...

Supreme Court to Hear Stanford Ponzi Lawsuits, Workplace Bias Case

Jan 21 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court last Friday agreed to hear four new cases, addressing matters as diverse as the reach of a law designed to combat chemical weapons, and whether lawyers could be sued for having once represented...

Marsh Names U.S. D&O Liability Product Leader in New York

Jan 18 2013 // Marsh, the insurance broking division of Marsh & McLennan Cos., announced that Brenda Shelly, a veteran management liability broker and underwriter, has been appointed the firm’s new U.S. directors and officers...