Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ratings Roundup: Commerce, Northwind, Harbor Point Re (US)
Nov 2 2007 // Fitch Ratings has placed the following Commerce Group, Inc. (CGI) ratings and subsidiaries on Rating Watch Positive: Commerce Group, Inc. – Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB+’ – $300 million 5.95...
Mapfre Cites Hispanic Insurance Market Potential Behind Commerce Acquisition
Nov 1 2007 // The potential of the Hispanic insurance market is one of the factors attracting Spanish insurer Mapfre to its acquisition of the Massachusetts-based personal lines writer Commerce Group. Mapfre officials calculate that...
Supreme Court to Decide on Exxon Valdez Punitive Damages
Oct 31 2007 // The Supreme Court this week agreed to decide whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages in connection with the huge Exxon Valdez oil spill that fouled more than 1,200 miles of Alaskan coastline...
Congressional Hearing Again Targets Regulatory Reform
Oct 31 2007 // No one argues the need to revamp the regulatory structure of the insurance industry, but just how to reform regulation remains the big question for legislators considering the issue. Some in the insurance industry support...
Tropical Storm Noel Lashes Caribbean
Oct 30 2007 // Noel, a late season tropical storm, has caused extensive damage in the Dominican Republic and threatens greater havoc in Haiti. The two countries, who share the island of Hispaniola, have been hit with high winds and...
Noel Threatens Bahamas, Not U.S.
Oct 30 2007 // According to the most recent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Tropical Storm Noel’s projected track should keep it well away from the U.S. mainland. The storm, the 14th of the season, has caused...
Guy Carp Partners with WSI Corp. to Assess U.S. Hurricane Risks
Oct 30 2007 // Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, Marsh & McLennan’s global risk and reinsurance unit, has announced a collaboration with WSI Corporation, a provider of weather-driven business solutions, to “help cedants...
Spain’s Mapfre to Buy Mass.-Based Commerce Insurance for $2.2 Billion
Oct 30 2007 // Spain’s largest insurer, Mapfre S.A., has agreed to buy the Massachusetts-based personal lines insurer The Commerce Group, Inc. for $2.21 billion in cash in a bold move to expand its presence in the U.S....
Ratings Roundup: Assurant, Dongbu (U.S.), Home Pointe
Oct 29 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB+’ counterparty credit rating on Assurant Inc., removed it from CreditWatch negative, and assigned a negative outlook to the company. S&P...
Declaratory judgment actions decide obligations under insurance contracts
Oct 27 2007 // A declaratory judgment action is essentially a request — typically by the insurer but often by the insured — that a court examine the relevant insurance policy provisions and declare the rights and obligations...
Assessing and managing wildfire risk
Oct 27 2007 // This summer, much of the western United States was in flames. Wildfires spurred by above-normal spring and summer temperatures, and one of the worst droughts in decades charred several million acres across the 11 western...
Business Moves
Oct 27 2007 // Arthur J. Gallagher, BIS Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired BIS Insurance Services Inc. of Sacramento, Calif. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1979, BIS Insurance Services is an employee...
Off-year election 2007 could provide glimpse into 2008
Oct 27 2007 // This fall is an off-year election season with only a handful of federal races and most state houses gearing up for contests in 2008. However there are some races — a hotly-debated referendum in Washington and key...
Chubb Reports 3d Quarter Net Income Up 22%
Oct 26 2007 // The Chubb Corp. reported that net income in the third quarter of 2007 was $738 million or $1.87 per share, compared to $604 million or $1.43 per share in the third quarter of 2006. Operating income, which the company...
U.S. Attorney Seeks Computer Hard Drive in Mississippi Katrina Probe
Oct 26 2007 // An engineering firm that helped adjust insurance claims on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina is seeking to block an employee’s computer hard drive from being turned over to a federal grand jury in...
British Petroleum to Pay More Than $370M for Violations in U.S.
Oct 26 2007 // British Petroleum and several of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay approximately $373 million in fines and restitution for environmental violations, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The sanctions stem from a...
House Panel Calls for Holocaust Insurance Policy Disclosure
Oct 25 2007 // A U.S. House of Representatives’ panel endorsed legislation this week that would require insurance companies to disclose information on Holocaust-era policy holders. The legislation aims to address concerns among...
N.Y. Proposal Prompts States to Rethink Regulation of Reinsurers
Oct 25 2007 // As the reinsurance industry increasingly moves offshore, U.S. insurance regulators are rethinking current rules that require only non-U.S. reinsurers to post collateral equal to the full amount of their liabilities to U.S....
Fitch: Calif. Wildfires May Be Largest U.S. Wildfire Insured Loss Ever
Oct 25 2007 // Insured losses from wildfires continuing to spread in Southern California could likely become the costliest catastrophe insured loss event in 2007 and may potentially become the costliest wildfire catastrophe insured loss...
Feds Push for Airline Safety Yields Runway and Training Upgrades
Oct 24 2007 // Several dozen airports painted brighter runway markings, airlines began new pilot training and regulators agreed to order clearer taxiing instructions as part of a two-month industrywide effort to improve U.S. aircraft...
