Latest USA Headlines

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

U.S. Judge Allows Class Action Alleging State Farm Bankrolled Judge

Sep 20 2016 // Some customers of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. claim the company conspired to help elect an Illinois Supreme Court candidate so he could vote to throw out a $1 billion award against the company. Now they will...

U.S. to Unveil Safety Standards for Autonomous Vehicles

Sep 20 2016 // The Obama administration’s proposed guidelines for self-driving cars, to be formally unveiled Tuesday, include 15 benchmarks automakers will need to meet before their autonomous vehicles can hit the road.The...

Loechner to Manage Gulf Coast Territory for XL Catlin’s US Marine Insurance Business

Sep 19 2016 // XL Catlin has promoted Jeffrey Loechner to Gulf Coast territorial manager for its U.S. Marine insurance business. He assumes underwriting and management responsibility for ocean cargo, blue and brown water hull, P&I,...

Pain Care Lobby Gave $3.5M in Ohio Political Donations as Opioid Deaths Climbed

Sep 19 2016 // As Ohio’s overdose epidemic has climbed toward a record high, an army of lobbyists representing makers of prescription painkillers and their allies poured more than $3.5 million into Ohio political...

AIR Worldwide Expands Global Terrorism Risk Model

Sep 19 2016 // Catastrophe risk modeler AIR Worldwide has expanded the capabilities of its terrorism risk model to support scenario testing for the United States and 27 other countries to help companies assess the impact of different...

First Lawsuit Over Wells Fargo Sales Practices Filed

Sep 19 2016 // Wells Fargo & Co. was sued by customers in what may be the first of many lawsuits to come after disclosures that employees created unauthorized accounts to boost the bank’s fees.Three Utah customers sued the bank...

U.S. Lawsuit Against Samsung Claims Injuries from Galaxy 7 Explosion

Sep 19 2016 // Samsung Electronics Co. was sued on Friday by a Florida man who said he suffered severe burns after his Galaxy Note 7 smartphone exploded in his front pants pocket.The lawsuit by Jonathan Strobel may be the first in the...

Autonomous Cars to Cut U.S. Auto Premiums by 20% in 20 Years

Sep 19 2016 // The rollout of autonomous vehicles in the next few decades could lead to a massive reduction in U.S. motor vehicle premiums in the coming years, Aon Benfield said in a new report.Expectations are that “industry pure...

Closing Quote: Health and Optimism in Surplus Lines

Sep 19 2016 // The surplus lines industry continues to outperform the overall property/casualty market, but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its own challenges.The annual U.S. Surplus Lines – Segment Review, produced...

How Competition Brings Out E&S Market’s Creativity

Sep 19 2016 // Emerging risks or traditional lines, innovation makes the differenceThe surplus lines market is eyeing another year of solid results for 2015. At press time, the final figures for 2015 surplus lines had yet to be released...

What’s Driving Reinsurance Growth: Aon

Sep 19 2016 // Reinsurance demand has increased over the past 18 months, with the cession ratio across the global property/casualty insurance industry registering a small rise for the first time in several years, and the trend expected...

Arch Coal Agrees to Fund Mine Cleanups to Exit Bankruptcy

Sep 19 2016 // U.S. coal miner Arch Coal has agreed to set aside collateral to cover future mine cleanup costs as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to a court filing, ending its controversial use of...

Alabama Department of Insurance Re-Accredited by NAIC

Sep 19 2016 // The Alabama Department of Insurance (ALDOI) announced Aug. 31 that it has been re-accredited by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for a 5-year term. The ALDOI received its first NAIC accreditation...

Judge Rules Uber Can Settle with Customers over Tips

Sep 16 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. won permission to settle claims it misled consumers by charging them a 20 percent “gratuity” even though drivers got only about half of it.U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco...

Wells Fargo Facing Disclosure Questions Over ‘Phantom’ Sales Scandal

Sep 16 2016 // A phantom account scandal at Wells Fargo & Co. has put the U.S. bank’s disclosure policies under a harsh spotlight.Despite press reports that a federal regulator and the Los Angeles prosecutor were investigating...

Drugs in U.S. Workplace at Highest Level in Decade

Sep 16 2016 // Following years of declines, the percentage of employees in the combined U.S. workforce testing positive for drugs has steadily increased over the last three years to a 10-year high.An analysis of nearly 11 million...

Deutsche Bank Balks at $14 Billion U.S. Demand to Settle Securities Claims

Sep 16 2016 // Deutsche Bank said it would fight a $14 billion demand from the U.S. Department of Justice to settle claims it missold mortgage-backed securities, a shock bill that raises questions about the future of Germany’s...

Samsung Agrees to Replace 1 Million Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones in U.S.

Sep 16 2016 // Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. formally recalled 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the United States, replacing or refunding the flagship phones, whose susceptibility to catching fire has damaged the image of the...

Tropical Storm Julia Weakens Along Southeast Coast

Sep 15 2016 // Tropical Storm Julia weakened into a depression and is expected to meander off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina for the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.Julia is located about 60...

Utah’s Unique Zika Case Remains Medical Mystery

Sep 15 2016 // A case of the Zika virus in Utah is now the only one in the continental U.S. that’s still puzzling researchers on exactly how it spread, health officials said this week.The man caught the illness after caring for his...