Latest USA Headlines

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

Yemen Conflict Adds to Worries for Ships Dodging Pirates, Terror

Mar 30 2015 // When it comes to world trade, a 17-day shortcut trumps terror, piracy and now bombs.That’s the time a supertanker saves by using the Bab el-Mandeb waterway that skirts Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian...

Bankruptcy Judge May Lift Shield for GM Over Ignition Switch Claims

Mar 27 2015 // A bankruptcy judge told General Motors Co. six years ago it didn’t have to worry about lawsuits over cars made before its $49.5 billion government bailout.Last month, the same judge said he wasn’t so sure...

Yemen Conflict Could Disrupt Major Oil Shipping Route; Insurers Pull Back

Mar 27 2015 // Conflict in Yemen risks spilling out into the busy sea lanes that pass it and potentially disrupt the narrow Bab el-Mandeb passage through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily to Europe, the United...

Federal Judge Blocks Granting Family Leave to Same-Sex Couples in Texas

Mar 26 2015 // The U.S. was barred by a federal judge from immediately enforcing a new rule that would grant Family and Medical Leave Act benefits to same-sex couples.Texas sued the U.S. last week, claiming that the government’s...

EU, US Insurers Lost $400 Billion from Continued Low Interest Rates: Swiss Re

Mar 26 2015 // A study, – “Financial repression: The unintended consequences -” released by Swiss Re, notes that “seven years after the financial crisis, central banks are still keeping interest rates at historically...

Lloyd’s Reports US$4.9 Billion (£3.2 Billion) Profit for 2014, Level With 2013

Mar 26 2015 // Lloyd’s announced a pre-tax profit of US$4.9 billion (£3.2 billion) for 2014, which is unchanged from the profit figure reported in 2013.The 2014 profit was driven by a relatively benign year for major natural...

NHL Loses Bid to Block Players’ Concussion Lawsuits

Mar 25 2015 // The National Hockey League lost its bid to throw out retired players’ claims it glorified violence and failed to protect them from repeated head injuries and concussions.Wednesday’s ruling by a federal judge in...

Supreme Court Gives Pregnant UPS Driver’s Claim Another Chance

Mar 25 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a former driver for UPS Inc. by throwing out a lower court ruling blocking her lawsuit accusing the package delivery company of discrimination for refusing to lighten her work...

Giordano to Retire as Executive Chairman of Canopius US

Mar 25 2015 // Canopius Group Limited, the global specialty (re)insurance platform of Sompo Holdings, announced that James (Jim) Giordano, Executive Chairman of Canopius US Holdings, will retire from the Group on June 30, 2015.The...

2014 Insured Cat Losses below Average at $35 Bn: Swiss Re Sigma Report

Mar 25 2015 // Swiss Re has just released its sigma report on catastrophe losses for 2014, which confirms that total global economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were around $110 billion, compared to global...

Former Massey CEO Pleads Not Guilty to New Indictment in Mine Blast

Mar 25 2015 // The former chief executive of Massey Energy Co. pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a revised federal indictment arising from a 2010 West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 miners.The former chief executive, Donald...

Georgia Tour Guides Move Forward with Free Speech Suit Against Savannah

Mar 24 2015 // Months after a federal lawsuit prompted Savannah to revise a local law regulating guided tours, Dan Leger remains determined to press ahead with the case in court.“Until they quit licensing my free speech, I...

Closing Arguments in Greenberg’s Suit Against Bailout Set for April 22

Mar 24 2015 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg’s Starr International Co. and the U.S. filed a second set of post-trial papers in a lawsuit over the terms of the government’s bailout of American International Group Inc.,...

As West Bakes and Northeast Shivers, Elsewhere Tornadoes Almost Disappear

Mar 24 2015 // The same weather pattern that made the West warm and dry and the Northeast cold and snowy has contributed to keeping the rest of the U.S. relatively free of tornadoes so far this year.In the first two months of 2015, about...

Fireman’s Fund to Pay $44M to Settle Crop Insurance Fraud Charges

Mar 23 2015 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. has agreed to pay $44 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it knowingly issued insurance policies that were ineligible under the U.S. Department of...

StartPoint Adds $25M in Capacity for U.S. D&O Market

Mar 23 2015 // Managing general agency StartPoint has added $25 million in new capacity for the U.S. directors & officers (D&O) insurance marketplace. The complete amount of the capacity is provided by certain syndicates at...

Top 30 U.S. Excess & Surplus Lines Writers in 2014: SNL

Mar 23 2015 // American International Group (AIG) and Nationwide Mutual are the top writers of U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) business but Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has climbed to become the eighth largest writer in just two years.A new...

Oil Industry Sues to Block U.S. Fracking Regulations

Mar 23 2015 // U.S. drillers already reeling from a six- month drop in oil prices denounced new U.S. fracking regulations as costly and unnecessary, and quickly met them with a lawsuit.After three years of debate, the U.S. Interior...

Hot Markets for 2015

Mar 23 2015 // Insurance Journal examined industries experiencing changes and expansions in the past year. Here are the top market sectors that just might deliver hot opportunities for agents and brokers in the property/casualty...

Paying Tribute

Mar 23 2015 // The industry saw the passing of two of its best known and respected leaders in the past month: Liam McGee, former CEO and executive chairman at The Hartford, and Robert Benmosche, former CEO of MetLife and American...