Latest USA Headlines

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

BP Gets $4 Billion from Anadarko for Gulf Oil Spill Costs

Oct 18 2011 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will pay BP Plc $4 billion toward clean-up and victim compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The amount is less than BP might have won in court, but it softens the blow of overall...

BP Settles for $4 Billion from Anadarko for Oil Spill Costs

Oct 18 2011 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp will pay BP Plc $4 billion toward clean-up and victim compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The amount is less than BP might have won in court, but it softens the blow of overall...

Outlining the Risks of the Business Traveler

Oct 17 2011 // Business travelers say there’s no substitute for being there. Even though budgets are tight and new technology makes it easy for people to connect virtually anywhere, businesses understand that it is crucial for...

U.S. SEC to Limit Charges Against Allianz

Oct 17 2011 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not plan to charge Allianz SE for illegal activity at its private equity investments, according to two people familiar with the matter, in a case that could have tested the...

Bermuda Re/Insurers Announce Q3 Cat Loss Estimates

Oct 17 2011 // A number of Bermuda-based re/insurers have announced their respective loss estimates for the third quarter of 2011. The figures given include loss adjustment expenses, and are net of any applicable reinsurance recoveries,...

California Rep. Bill Would Lower Earthquake Insurance Costs

Oct 17 2011 // California’s U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R) recently introduced legislation similar to a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) earlier this year that would strengthen the nation’s natural disaster...

New MGA Targeting U.S. Homebuilders Formed in California

Oct 17 2011 // Two veterans in the London insurance marketplace have come together again to launch an underwriting agency with a focus on U.S.-based homebuilders. Paul Jansen and Kevin Hastings have launched Cove Programs Insurance...

People

Oct 17 2011 // Wells Publishing Inc. has named Young Ha as its new East editor for its flagship Insurance Journal online and print property/casualty insurance publications. Ha, based in New York, will cover the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic...

Two Plead Guilty in Houston in New York Tour Boat Insurance Case

Oct 17 2011 // Two men have entered guilty pleas in a case involving the sale of bogus insurance to a New York tour operator whose boat capsized in 2005 killing 20 elderly tourists. Edmund Hugh Benton, 63, of Scottsdale, Ariz., pleaded...

People

Oct 17 2011 // USG Insurance Services Inc. has added Drake Burger and Steve Page as producers in its Tampa, Florida office. Burger most recently held the position of underwriter with Westrope Insurance Managers of Florida. Burger has...

State Farm: Its Conn. Deductible Decision Grounded in Fairness

Oct 14 2011 // State Farm Insurance says U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s request that the company drop Irene-related hurricane deductibles in Connecticut would actually be unfair to policyholders and introduce all sorts of...

SEC Asks Companies to Disclose Cyber Attacks

Oct 14 2011 // U.S. securities regulators formally asked public companies for the first time to disclose cyber attacks against them, following a rash of high-profile Internet crimes. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued...

Best Affirms Aspen UK, Bermuda Companies and Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable

Oct 14 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Ratings Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Aspen Insurance UK Limited (AIUK) and Aspen...

Best Affirms QBE’s US Subsidiaries Ratings; Upgrades North Pointe

Oct 13 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a-” of Harrisburg,...

2,100 Jobs Lost in Insurance Industry in August

Oct 13 2011 // The latest U.S. jobs data show the insurance industry lost 2,100 jobs overall in August. The industry employs some 2,211,000 workers according to the latest numbers. The Insurance Information Institute reported that most...

Ratings Recap: HSB (UK), Nissan Global Re, Optima, Hatherley/Park

Oct 13 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating to “aa+” from...

U.S. Sanctions BP, Contractors for Gulf Oil Spill

Oct 13 2011 // The U.S. offshore drilling regulator Wednesday formally issued sanctions against BP and the major contractors involved in the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and spewed more than 4...

Endurance Appoints Lamer to Head U.S. Property Cat Treaty Reinsurance

Oct 13 2011 // Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd announced that Rene Lamer will assume the role of Senior Vice President and Head of U.S. Property Catastrophe Treaty Reinsurance. He is a Bermuda citizen, and will continue to...

Fairfax Financial’s Hedges Shelter Insurer from Financial Crisis

Oct 13 2011 // Toronto-based Fairfax Financial, which raked in billions during the 2008 financial crisis by using market hedges, is once again a go-to stock for shaken investors. Although the company has been criticized by some for its...

US Congress OK’s Korea, Panama, Colombia Trade Pacts

Oct 13 2011 // Congress Wednesday approved long-delayed trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that are expected to lift exports by about $13 billion a year and give U.S. employment a boost. Republicans and Democrats joined...