Latest USA Headlines

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

N.Y. Arson Ring Leader Faces 10-Year Sentence

Sep 19 2007 // The leader of an arson ring that collected more than $400,000 in fraudulent insurance claims for fires in three New York counties is scheduled to surrender Sept. 18 to serve a 10-year federal prison sentence, according to...

Swiss Re Economist Comments on Fed Rate Cut

Sep 19 2007 // Swiss Re’s Chief US economist, Kurt Karl, issued a comment following the decision by the Federal Reserve to lower the target fed funds rate 50 basis points to 4.75 percent. He described the move as a “strong...

Bush Signals Veto of Terrorism Reinsurance Program

Sep 18 2007 // The Bush Administration believes that the federal backup for terrorism reinsurance should be phased out in favor of a private market for terrorism insurance and “strongly opposes efforts to expand the federal...

Insurers Have Manageable Exposure to Subprime Turmoil

Sep 18 2007 // The vast majority of U.S. insurers have little or no exposure to the volatility in the subprime mortgage market because a substantial percentage of their investments are in the highest-rated bonds or stocks with no direct...

Governor Says Feds Declare Disaster Area in N.C. Counties

Sep 17 2007 // Farmers across North Carolina are now eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the federal government to help them recover from sizable crop losses sustained in the state’s ongoing drought, Gov. Mike Easley...

US, China Agree to Improve Information-Sharing on Auto Safety

Sep 14 2007 // The U.S. government has agreed with China to improve information-sharing on auto safety in the aftermath of a recall of thousands of defective Chinese-made tires over the last several months. The “memorandum of...

HRH Acquiring Bank of America’s Commercial Insurance Agency

Sep 14 2007 // Insurance broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. has agreed to purchase Banc of America Corporate Insurance Agency, L.L.C., a segment of Bank of America, N.A., and a middle market insurance intermediary in the northeastern...

Another Katrina Levee Failure Case Before La. Appeals Court

Sep 14 2007 // A Louisiana state appeals court is weighing whether an insurance company must pay for damage from the failure of levees in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a case that could affect thousands of property owners in the...

U.S. Report: Private Insurers Overpaid by National Flood Program

Sep 13 2007 // The federal government may be overpaying private insurers for their operating costs associated with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a recent report said. The government’s payments to insurance companies...

U.S. Census Figures Show Minn. Twin Cities with Older Workforce

Sep 13 2007 // When Jim Johnson turned 65 last spring, the executive vice president at Securian Financial Group could have joined several colleagues who decided to retire. But when the company asked him to stay in charge of its group...

Alabama, Florida Officials Share Costs on Hurricane Evacuation Route

Sep 12 2007 // Alabama and Florida officials started a jointly funded project this week that will provide a four-lane hurricane evacuation route from the Florida Panhandle to Interstate 65 in Alabama. It’s a rare case in which a...

Sept. 11 is Reminder of Need for Terror Reinsurance, Say P/C Insurers

Sep 11 2007 // Six years after September 11, 2001, the threat of terrorist attack remains a source of tremendous uncertainty for the United States economy, with potentially negative consequences for both business interests and...

U.S. Fire Report: More Fires; Fewer Deaths and Injuries; Rise in Property Loss

Sep 11 2007 // Fire departments in the United States responded to an estimated 1.6 million fires during 2006. These fires caused 3,245 civilian deaths and 16,400 injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The...

Inspections Not Enough to Assure Safety of Imports, Bush Told

Sep 11 2007 // The flow of products imported into the U.S. each year is so vast that simply increasing inspections would not adequately improve safety. Instead, the government should do more to ensure products are safe before they reach...

Sens. Dorgan, Specter Move to Halt Mexican Trucks in U.S.

Sep 11 2007 // Two senators want to ban Mexican trucks from U.S. roads, saying not enough has been done to make sure they are safe. Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., want to strip funding for a program launched last...

S&P Publishes Reinsurance Reports

Sep 10 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has issued a series of reports on the global reinsurance industry, timed to appear as the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous opens its doors in Monte Carlo. The meeting, which...

2 Miss. Men Face Sentencing in December for Katrina Fraud

Sep 10 2007 // Two south Mississippi men will be sentenced in December for making false claims for Hurricane Katrina relief, officials said. Danny Gene Hale will be sentenced Dec. 4 on six counts of fraud. Hale was convicted on Sept. 5...

Catlin Posts $162 Million 1H Net

Sep 7 2007 // The Bermuda – based Catlin Group Limited announced from its London offices that income before tax for the first half of 2007 was $190 million after acquisition effects. Net income was $162 million. The earnings...

11 N.J. Public Officials Caught in Feds’ Insurance Brokerage Bribery Net

Sep 6 2007 // Federal agents arrested and charged 11 New Jersey local public officials with taking bribes in exchange for giving public contracts to an insurance brokerage set up by investigators. The public corruption investigation —...

U.S. Risk Names Goss a Broker and Inland Marine Underwriter

Sep 5 2007 // Dallas-based U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. named Quinton Goss a broker and inland marine underwriter at U.S. Risk Brokers, the company’s wholesale excess and surplus lines insurance brokerage operations. He will be...