Latest Retail Headlines

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

House Passes Bill Blocking Giant Retailers’ Entry into Banking

May 22 2007 // The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a measure closing a loophole and blocking giant retailers like Wal-Mart and The Home Dept from owning industrial loan corporations, or ILCs.For ILCs already owned...

Ark. Judge Grants Class Status to Truckers Suing Wal-Mart

May 18 2007 // A judge in Little Rock, Ark., has granted class status in a federal lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in which the company is accused of discriminating against black applicants for jobs driving Wal-Mart trucks.In his...

FBI to Launch Retail Theft, Loss Prevention Database

Apr 5 2007 // In response to Congressional legislation intended to combat the growing problem of organized retail theft, the FBI has worked with the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leader’s Association...

Wal-Mart Drops Bid to Form Bank

Mar 16 2007 // Wal-Mart Financial Services has withdrawn its controversial application seeking to start its own bank.The retailer is one among 14 companies including the Home Depot with applications before the Federal Deposit Insurance...

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Maryland’s Wal-Mart Mandate

Jan 18 2007 // The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision that federal ERISA law invalidates a Maryland law that would have required giant retailer Wal-Mart to offer a certain level of...

2006: Soft market offers up many new insurance products

Dec 25 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management Liability New P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically...

2006 New Markets Report

Dec 24 2006 // E&O, Professional/Management LiabilityNew P/C Insurance Agents’ E&O Rockwood Programs partnered with certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London to offer professional liability coverage specifically for...

Wal-Mart Settles a Nearly $5.1 Million Insurance Lawsuit in Okla.

Dec 7 2006 // Wal-Mart has settled a nearly $5.1 million class-action lawsuit brought by the estates of 73 former employees in Oklahoma.A federal judge in Tulsa gave final approval Dec. 4 to the settlement, which calls for about a third...

SPECIAL REPORT: Surplus Lines

Nov 20 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...

Not your father’s wholesaler

Nov 20 2006 // When it comes to today’s excess and surplus lines brokers, retail agents have a choice of several modelsMuch is said about retail agents having to change with the times and stand out from the crowd to survive. But...

The Locomotive That Drive the Insurance Train

Nov 19 2006 // The insurance industry’s excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector has experienced a pronounced reversal of position in the last 20 years. Once considered a mere adjunct, a safety valve for risks that were too hard...

Not your father’s wholesaler

Nov 19 2006 // Much is said about retail agents having to change with the times and stand out from the crowd to survive. But what about wholesalers?Wholesale brokers are also trying to differentiate themselves, hoping retail agents will...

Wal-Mart Expands $4 Generic Drugs to 11 More States

Nov 17 2006 // Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its $4 generic prescription program to 11 additional states and adding 17 more prescriptions to the program.The world’s largest retailer added 502 stores to those offering the...

Argonaut Group Launches Retail Furniture Store Program

Nov 16 2006 // San Antonio, Texas-base Argonaut Group’s Select Markets segment launched a new program for the retail furniture store marketplace. Highlights of the Retail Furniture Store Insurance Program include property coverage...

JLT Completes Sale of U.S. Retail Business to Alliant

Oct 19 2006 // The London-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group confirmed that the sale of its US based retail P/C Insurance and Employee Benefits businesses to Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. was completed after the close of...

Fed Survey Finds Easing of Credit Underwriting Standards

Oct 18 2006 // The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s annual Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices reports that competitive pressures have led to a third consecutive year of eased commercial and retail credit...

Alliant Buys U.S. Retail Business of Jardine Lloyd Thompson

Sep 8 2006 // Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT) said it has sold its U,S. based property and casualty insurance and employee benefits businesses to California-based Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.“The sale of the retail part...

Surplus lines designation curriculum updated; good fit for retailers as well

Sep 4 2006 // After 10 years on the circuit, the surplus lines industry’s first designation has received a facelift. Beginning in January 2007, the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance designation (ASLI) will be earned by passing...

Maryland Seeks Answers for Uninsured After Wal-Mart Law Nixed

Aug 6 2006 // With Maryland’s groundbreaking Wal-Mart health care bill declared invalid by a federal judge, state officials are re-examining their options for providing medical care to many of the almost 800,000 people who have no...

Wal-Mart Type Banks Put on Hold

Jul 30 2006 // Federal bank regulators have halted for six months any new approvals of the sort of industrial banks that Wal-Mart, Home Depot and 12 other companies are seeking to own.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. imposed the...