Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best Upgrades Allianz (US) Ratings to ‘A+’; Affirms Fireman’s Fund
Dec 19 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “aa” from “a” of Allianz Global...
IAG to Exit UK Mass Market
Dec 18 2008 // Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced that it has agreed to sell its mass market distribution businesses in the UK for a total value of £73.5 million (approximately A$165 million – US$113.74...
SEC Moves to Regulate Some Equity Indexed Annuities
Dec 18 2008 // The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Wednesday to begin scrutinizing annuities linked to equity indexes, a complex financial product the agency says falls into a regulatory no-man’s land. The 4-1 vote...
Lawsuit Seeks to Stop U.S. Bailout of AIG as Anti-Christian, Anti-U.S.
Dec 16 2008 // A Michigan–based Christian rights group has filed suit against the federal government claiming the government’s loan to insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is illegal because AIG has financial...
AIG Sells Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio to Government
Dec 16 2008 // American International Group’s life insurance companies have sold residential mortgage-backed securities with a face value of $39.3 billion to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) as part of its efforts to...
S&P: Challenging Times Loom For U.S. Insurers in 2009
Dec 15 2008 // The deteriorating U.S. economy – with its waves of layoffs, dislocations in the credit and equity markets, and falling home prices – will present a challenge in 2009 for almost every domestic business sector,...
Farmers Insurance Ranks Most Secure Places to Live; Northwest Tops List
Dec 15 2008 // Those seeking a place to live, work or raise a family in a safe and secure environment should consider the Pacific Northwest, according to the fifth annual Most Secure U.S. Places to Live rankings from Farmers Insurance...
HCC Insurance Holdings Acquires Arrowhead Public Risk, U.S. Risk Insurance Brokers’ Criminal Justice Division
Dec 12 2008 // Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc.has acquired Arrowhead Public Risk, a division of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc., and also acquired the Criminal Justice division of U.S. Risk Insurance Brokers. The...
U.S. Needs More Study on Risks of Nanotechnology: Research Council
Dec 12 2008 // The U.S. government needs a more comprehensive plan for studying the risks of nanotechnology, the National Research Council said. While the committee that prepared the report did not evaluate the safety of nanomaterials,...
Best Affirms Zurich Ratings; Revises Outlook to Stable
Dec 12 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of Zurich Insurance Company (ZIC), the main operating company of Zurich Financial...
New California-Mexico Border Crossing To Open in San Diego
Dec 12 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined federal and state officials from the United States and Mexico to announce the issuance of a federal permit that clears the way to create a new California-Mexico border crossing...
Economic Crisis Leaves States Less Ready to Handle Disasters
Dec 11 2008 // Progress made to better protect the country from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism is now at risk, due to budget cuts and the economic crisis, according to a new report. The report concludes that major...
Insiders Say AIG Slashing Prices to Win Business in Moves That May Burn Rivals, Taxpayers
Dec 11 2008 // American International Group Inc. is cutting prices to win new business and boost market share, competitors and others in the industry say, but taxpayers could again be stuck with the tab. Since a U.S. government bailout,...
Pole-Climbing Robots Could Save Lives of Construction Workers
Dec 11 2008 // Researchers have developed a trio of pole-climbing serpentine robots designed to take the place of construction workers tasked with dangerous jobs such as inspecting high-rises or underwater bridge piers. The Robotics and...
AIG CEO Liddy Says Asset Sales May Be Delayed
Dec 11 2008 // The CEO of U.S. insurer American International Group (AIG), which is looking to shed assets around the globe as part of a $152 billion U.S. government rescue package, said that difficult markets may delay the sale plans,...
NAIC to Examine Proposal to Modify Reinsurance Collateral Requirements
Dec 10 2008 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted its Reinsurance Regulatory Modernization Framework Proposal, which modernizes U.S. state-based regulation of reinsurance. “This proposal sets...
AXA, Metlife, Prudential, China’s CIC in AIG Talks
Dec 10 2008 // Insurance firms Axa S.A., MetLife Inc. and Prudential Plc., as well as China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC, are all in talks to buy a unit of U.S. insurance firm American International Group in a deal that is likely to...
Maine Mercury Cleanup at Issue in Federal Ruling
Dec 10 2008 // A federal judge has refused to block Maine environmental regulators from enforcing a mercury cleanup order at a former chemical plant’s Orrington landfills. Mallinckrodt LLC of St. Louis, a subsidiary of U.S....
Ambitions for 2009 UN Climate Pact Fade in Poznan
Dec 9 2008 // Recession and the change of U.S. administration make it unlikely the world will meet a 2009 deadline for agreeing a full new pact to fight global warming, delegates at UN climate talks say. A year ago, 190 nations signed...
Doctors Still Sleep Deprived Despite Hours Cap: U.S. Report
Dec 8 2008 // Doctors-in-training are still too exhausted, says a new U.S. report that calls on hospitals to let them have a nap. Regulations that capped the working hours of bleary-eyed young doctors came just five years ago, limiting...
