Latest USA Headlines

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

BP’s Potential Pricetag for Gulf Oil Spill

Mar 5 2012 // BP Plc struck a deal on Friday to pay an estimated $7.8 billion to settle claims from individuals and businesses stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But BP and its partners in the ill-fated Macondo well still...

BP’s $7.8 Billion Deal May Speed Gulf Spill Payments

Mar 5 2012 // The estimated $7.8 billion deal struck by BP Plc with businesses and individuals suing over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could speed up payments to thousands of claimants and offers lawyers a potential...

AIG to Sell $6 Billion Worth of AIA shares to Repay U.S. Bail-out

Mar 5 2012 // American International Group is selling part of its stake in AIA Group to raise about $6 billion to help the U.S. insurer repay a huge federal government bail-out. AIG is looking to place some 1.7 billion AIA shares in a...

U.S. Should Expect Another Above-Normal Tornado Season

Mar 5 2012 // The U.S. should expect an active severe weather season with above-normal tornadoes in 2012. That’s after a near-record number of tornadoes in 2011, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.com in State College,...

Business Moves

Mar 5 2012 // OneBeacon, Interboro OneBeacon Insurance Group completed the sale of its AutoOne business to Interboro Holdings of New York. The transaction, which was announced on Aug. 31, 2011, included AutoOne Insurance Co. and AutoOne...

For Hire: Alaska Insurance Director

Mar 5 2012 // Wanted: State Insurance Director. Must supply your own parka. Linda Hall, director of Alaska’s Division of Insurance, is retiring after nine years on the job, and the state has launched a nationwide search for her...

Tornado Season Begins. Now What?

Mar 5 2012 // Tornado season usually starts in March and then ramps up for the next couple of months, but it got off to an early and deadly start in late January when two people were killed by separate twisters in Alabama. Preliminary...

China to Open Auto Insurance Market

Mar 5 2012 // China has agreed to an important financial sector reform by opening up its massive auto insurance market to foreign competition. During a meeting with U.S. business chiefs and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, U.S. Vice...

Captives Bring Premium Dollars and Jobs to Missouri

Mar 5 2012 // The State Is Serious About Encouraging Captive Growth When it comes to the captive insurance industry, slow and steady growth is just fine with the state of Missouri. But it’s not like the state is reluctant to...

Judge: BP, Anadarko, Transocean May Be Liable for Oil Pollution Claims

Mar 5 2012 // BP Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. are liable and Transocean Ltd. may be liable for civil damages under federal pollution laws over the catastrophic 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a U.S. judge ruled. The decision by U.S....

Declarations

Mar 5 2012 // Rate Improving “There absolutely is a trend of rate improving…In the U.S., we’ve seen property, workers comp, as well as excess casualty and general liability starting to increase.” —Peter...

The Power of Choice

Mar 5 2012 // Peering across the market, it’s easy to see the telltale signs of a market in transition, the completion of one cycle and the beginning of another. This time around, dusting off the old underwriting “hard...

Insurers Face Huge Losses from Latest Deadly Tornadoes

Mar 3 2012 // Less than a year after a series of tornadoes caused some of the worse insured losses in U.S. history, the insurance industry is likely facing substantial costs again after storms killed at least 33 people on...

BP Reaches $7.8 Billion Deal Over Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Mar 3 2012 // BP Plc has reached an estimated $7.8 billion deal with businesses suing over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the company said on Friday, but the oil giant still faces claims by the U.S. government, Gulf states...

U.S. Regulators to Issue Post-Fukushima Safety Rules

Mar 2 2012 // As the first anniversary of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster approaches, U.S. nuclear regulators have moved to issue the first new rules to deal with safety issues raised by the world’s worst nuclear accident...

Court Revives Securities Case Involving Foreign vs. Domestic Transactions

Mar 2 2012 // A federal appeals court has breathed new life into a lawsuit accusing a Beverly Hills broker-dealer of defrauding nine hedge funds out of nearly $200 million through an international penny stock fraud. The 2nd U.S. Circuit...

Iran Ship Insurer Vows to Pay Western Claims Despite Sanctions

Mar 2 2012 // Tough new U.S. sanctions against Iran are raising concern that the OPEC member’s insurers may not be able to pay Western claims in the event of an accident, but Iran’s main ship insurer said it is confident it...

U.S. Seeks Dismissal of Ex-CEO Greenberg’s $25B Lawsuit on AIG Takeover

Mar 2 2012 // The U.S. government has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit relating to its 2008 takeover of American International Group that was filed by a company run by former AIG Chief Executive Maurice Greenberg, court documents...

Dallas Doctor, 6 Others Arrested in $375M Health Care Fraud Scheme

Mar 1 2012 // A physician and the office manager of his medical practice, along with five owners of home health agencies, were arrested today on charges related to their alleged participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud...

N.Y. Prosecutors Say Fraud Scheme Was Largest of Its Kind in History

Mar 1 2012 // Authorities are describing the takedown of a massive auto insurance fraud ring in New York the largest of its kind involving New York’s no-fault law. The fraud scheme involved 10 licensed medical doctors, three...