Latest USA Headlines

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

Declarations

Dec 5 2010 // Commissions and the MLR“After hearing from various interested parties, if HHS does not fix this language before the rule is final, we hope that Congress will step in and revise the MLR formula through the legislative...

Declarations

Dec 5 2010 // Legislate Commissions “After hearing from various interested parties, if HHS does not fix this language before the rule is final, we hope that Congress will step in and revise the MLR formula through the legislative...

People

Dec 5 2010 // Frost Insurance in Austin, Texas promoted Sheri Smyth to vice president of personal lines. Smyth, a 23-year insurance industry veteran, manages the personal lines department’s growth and retention efforts, and...

Fireman’s Fund Ready to Rally

Dec 5 2010 // Fireman’s Fund’s financials, like other insurance carriers’, got bruised a little in the first half of 2010, following some heavy catastrophe losses. But company President and CEO Mike LaRocco said...

Employers With Foreign Labor Face Increased Liability

Dec 5 2010 // Every state has been impacted by Arizona’s immigration law, as there is now a cry for immigration reform. Employers who hire a questionable workforce due to the “dirty” or menial nature of certain jobs...

Declarations

Dec 5 2010 // Get on the Bandwagon“You’re not going to get any more mortality (business) with the things you’re doing now.” —Douglas French, managing principal of Ernst & Young’s insurance advisory...

Talk About the Weather

Dec 5 2010 // There was a time in the not-so-distant past when events such as these would have been considered somewhat unusual in Europe. But these days, extreme weather events are becoming a much more common occurrence.In this year...

Tropical Storm Risk on ‘Remarkable’ 2010 Hurricane, Typhoon Seasons

Dec 3 2010 // To mark the end of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), which provides resources for predicting and mapping tropical storm activity worldwide and is co-sponsored by Aon Benfield, has issued a...

Dutch Insurer Aegon to take $290 Million Charge from U.S. Restructuring

Dec 2 2010 // Dutch insurer Aegon NV will cut up to 500 jobs in the United States and discontinue sales of certain types of life insurance policies, it said on Wednesday, leading to $290 million in restructuring charges and...

US Plans to Press China on Trade at Dec. 14-15 Meeting

Dec 2 2010 // The United States will press China to make a number of trade reforms to open its market to more U.S. goods and services at a high-level bilateral meeting this month, the U.S. officials said Wednesday.The Dec. 14-15...

How BP’s Gulf Oil Disaster Costs Could Double

Dec 1 2010 // Analysts’ dividend forecasts point to steady recovery BP, analysts, may be underestimating legal charges BP has history of low-balling long-term cost of disasters “Gross negligence,” punitive damages not...

Euro Crisis Worries Spread; U.S. to Send Treasury Envoy

Dec 1 2010 // Global concern about the debt crisis rocking the euro zone mounted on Wednesday, with Washington sending a top U.S. Treasury envoy to Europe and G20 officials discussing the turmoil in a conference call.A day after...

Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Obama Health Care Law

Dec 1 2010 // A federal judge in Virginia Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the landmark healthcare law championed by President Barack Obama, upholding key provisions that require health insurance coverage.The challenge, one of...

Auto, Homeowners Insurance Costs in Ohio Well Below National Average

Nov 30 2010 // Ohio consumers pay $226 less for homeowners insurance than the U.S. average and nearly $167 less for auto insurance than the U.S. average, according to a report updated by the Ohio Insurance Institute (OII).The homeowners...

US Sees Progress in Easing Climate Change Row with China

Nov 30 2010 // Washington claimed progress Monday in easing rifts with Beijing on ways to fight global warming as U.N. climate talks got under way in Mexico with warnings about the rising costs of inaction.The United States and China,...

Extremely Active Atlantic Hurricane Season was a ‘Gentle Giant’ for U.S.

Nov 29 2010 // The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends tomorrow, was one of the busiest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In contrast, the eastern North Pacific season had the fewest...

Drivers Beware When Deer Search for Mates

Nov 24 2010 // Paula Reid was cruising at the speed limit on U.S. 460 in Virginia, near Montvale, her big BMW sedan slicing through the dark highway’s miles.Then, thwack. “Out of nowhere she hit me,” Reid, 49, of...

Ratings Recap: National Guaranty, Standard Casualty, Affiliates RRG

Nov 24 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont (NGIC), both with stable outlooks. The...

U.S. Treasury Hires Adviser to Sell Government’s Shares in AIG

Nov 24 2010 // The U.S. Treasury hired Greenhill & Co. to help it dispose of its investment in bailed-out insurer American International Group, which the Treasury will own 92.1 percent of from early next year.The 18-month contract is...

SAP to Pay $1.3 Billion Damages to Oracle for Copyright Infringement

Nov 24 2010 // SAP AG must pay Oracle Corp $1.3 billion for software theft in a jury verdict that could be the largest-ever for copyright infringement.The decision, by a U.S. district court jury in Oakland California, drew a gasp from...