Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
BP Fails to Shift $15 Billion Gulf Oil Spill Costs to Transocean
Jan 27 2012 // Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift over $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean , increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion clean up...
AIG Thinking about Buying Back More of AIA
Jan 26 2012 // American International Group Chairman Steve Miller said on Thursday the bailed-out insurance company may eventually want to buy a life insurer outside the United States, including possibly a larger stake in the spun-off...
U.S. Wholesale Broker AmWINS Completes Acquisition of London’s THB
Jan 26 2012 // U.S. insurance wholesaler AmWINS Group, Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of THB Group plc of London. THB, an independent insurance and reinsurance broker and risk management business, serves clients...
U.S. Eyes WTO Services Pacts Amid Doha Stall
Jan 25 2012 // The United States is making a push for a group of countries within the World Trade Organization to start talks to liberalize trade in services, even if big developing countries like China, India and Brazil don’t want...
Tougher U.S. Commercial Market Conditions in 2012: Marsh
Jan 25 2012 // U.S. commercial insurance rates are expected to climb across many lines of business in 2012, continuing a trend that began in the second half of 2011, according to a report by insurance broker Marsh. Substantial...
January P/C Reinsurance Renewals Flat or Up Slightly: Towers Watson
Jan 25 2012 // January 1 renewal rates for U.S. property/casualty reinsurance premiums showed firming with changes from -5 percent to +5 percent on an overall basis, with loss-affected property catastrophe business up considerably...
Crop Insurance Payouts at a Record $9.1 Billion
Jan 25 2012 // Crop insurers paid out a record $9.1 billion in indemnities on 2011 U.S. crops, and the total could top $10 billion when all claims are settled, due to damage from drought, flooding, and freezing weather, a trade group...
Ratings Roundup: Montpelier US, Medico, First Sealord, Pathfinder
Jan 24 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “aa-” from “a-” of Montpelier US...
Ratings Roundup: Taiping Re, First Insurance
Jan 24 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to stable from positive and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating “a-” of Hong Kong-based Taiping Reinsurance...
AIG to Merge Group Benefits Units From Chartis and American General
Jan 24 2012 // Two American International Group units — Chartis U.S. Accident and Health, and American General Life Companies — are planning to merge their group benefits businesses into a single, unified organization. The...
New U.S. Consumer Agency Pledges to Avoid Rule Duplication
Jan 24 2012 // The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said on Monday it would coordinate rulemaking and enforcement with the Federal Trade Commission to avoid duplication. Richard Cordray, the recently appointed director of the...
Should Insurers Cover Experimental Treatments?
Jan 24 2012 // When your health insurance provider denies an experimental treatment or a high-cost drug, how much are you willing to pay for the care you believe you need? Barby Ingle, a former cheerleading and dance coach at Washington...
Chevron Appeals $18 Billion Judgment Ruling in Ecuador Lawsuit
Jan 23 2012 // Chevron Corp has filed an appeal with Ecuador’s National Court of Justice to review a judgment that the U.S. oil company pay $18 billion in damages for polluting the Amazon jungle. Chevron was ordered by an...
Europe to Issue Tough Rules Protecting Internet Users’ Data
Jan 23 2012 // The European Union will propose tough new rules in the coming days on how corporations handle Internet users’ personal data, a long-awaited move that could have far-reaching implications for Web giants such as Google...
U.S. Nuclear Plants Need Better Safety Against Earthquakes, Floods: Panel
Jan 23 2012 // An expert task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called Japan’s nuclear disaster “unacceptable” and concluded that nuclear power plants in the U.S. need better protections for rare,...
Courts Push Back on Foreign Bribery Prosecutions
Jan 23 2012 // As the U.S. Justice Department has stepped up its enforcement of an anti-foreign bribery law, it has faced the expected stiff resistance from the business community. Now it faces the unexpected as courts are pushing back,...
People
Jan 23 2012 // Woodbury, N.Y.-based Sterling & Sterling appointed Leslie Nylund as president of the insurance brokerage. Nylund will be responsible for the firm’s operations, including sales, employee benefits, client services...
Court: Workers’ Comp Bars Iraq Convoy Drivers’ Suit Against KBR, Halliburton
Jan 23 2012 // A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit brought against KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co. by the families of two convoy drivers killed in a 2004 insurgent attack in Iraq. The U.S. Court of Appeal for the 5th Circuit,...
People
Jan 23 2012 // Swantner & Gordon Insurance Agency has added Thomas Peel in the marketing department of the firm’s Houston office. As a marketing representative, Peel will be responsible for analyzing and placing risk with...
Ground Shifting for Medical Liability Insurers: Moody’s
Jan 23 2012 // Although it comprises just over 2 percent of annual direct premiums for the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry, the medical professional liability (MPL) insurance business is integral to the U.S. healthcare...
