Latest USA Headlines

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

Report: Q1 Catastrophe Bond Market Sees Sustained Improvement

Apr 14 2010 // Catastrophe bond issuance conditions saw sustained improvement in the first quarter of 2010, reflecting the increase in prominence of the insurance linked securities (ILS) asset class.Despite the continued improvement in...

AIG ‘Strongly Objected’ to Pay Czar’s Cuts

Apr 13 2010 // Feinberg slashed the salaries of David Herzog, chief financial officer, and Kristian Moor, executive vice president of property-casualty, to $350,000 and $450,000 from $675,000 and $1 million, respectively, effective Nov....

Global Reinsurers Enjoyed Solid Year in 2009, A.M. Best Reports

Apr 13 2010 // Capacity returned in force to the global reinsurance market in 2009, as solid earnings helped to propel capital upward by 24 percent from the previous year, despite a softening market.Recovering from harsh blows delivered...

How Microinsurance Plans Extend Healthcare in Africa

Apr 12 2010 // Kenyan student Shadrack Silipo had a heart operation five years ago, the sort of surgery that often bankrupts families in Africa.Silipo’s parents normally would have paid by selling off land, the same green acres...

5 More States Join Lawsuit Against New Healthcare Law

Apr 8 2010 // Five more states are joining a Florida-led group of states in a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, Florida’s attorney general said Wednesday.The joint lawsuit...

Forecasters Predict Above-Average Hurricane Season in 2010

Apr 8 2010 // The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will produce an above-average eight hurricanes, four of them major, posing a heightened threat to the U.S. coastline, the Colorado State University hurricane forecasting team predicted...

Insurance Mergers Dropped in 2009, Reports Conning

Apr 8 2010 // The U.S. saw a significant decline in the reported value of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in 2009, and overall global transaction values also declined further from very low 2008 levels,...

Federal Judge in New Orleans Awards $2.6M in Chinese Drywall Case

Apr 8 2010 // A federal judge in New Orleans has awarded seven plaintiffs from Virginia more than $2.6 million in a consolidated case involving damage to the plaintiff’s homes as a result of the installation of substandard drywall...

West Virginia Hoping for a Miracle in Mine Rescue

Apr 7 2010 // Drills boring into a West Virginia coal mine Wednesday carried hope for a “miracle” rescue of four miners missing after a blast killed 25 people in the worst U.S. mine disaster in a quarter century.The...

International Insider: Multinationals and Money Laundering

Apr 7 2010 // As the international community steps up its efforts to fight money laundering, a number of countries are now requiring insurers to obtain additional information from their customers to screen out possible bad actors.For...

Rhode Island Officials Say Grants, Not Loans Needed for Floods

Apr 7 2010 // Several of Rhode Island’s elected officials said Monday they are pushing to secure federal grants instead of loans for hundreds of businesses trying to recover from the worst flooding in 200 years, although a week...

Cameras Make Chicago Most Closely Watched U.S. City

Apr 7 2010 // In less than a decade and with little opposition, Chicago has linked thousands of cameras in a network covering most of the city, creating the most extensive and sophisticated video surveillance system in the United States...

U.S. to Make Trucking Firm Repeat Violators Install Electronic Recorders

Apr 6 2010 // A new federal regulation will require trucking companies that repeatedly violate driver time limits to install electronic recorders that track how long drivers are at the wheel.But the recorders will only be required for...

At Least 25 Dead in West Virginia Coal Mine Blast

Apr 6 2010 // An explosion ripped through a West Virginia coal mine owned by Massey Energy, killing at least 25 miners in the deadliest U.S. mining disaster since 1984.Governor Joe Manchin said Tuesday morning that four miners remained...

AIG Financial Products Executive Cassano Still Faces SEC Probe

Apr 6 2010 // The former head of the American International Group division that nearly bankrupted the giant insurer isn’t out of the woods yet.Joseph Cassano, who ran London-based AIG Financial Products and oversaw its disastrous...

South Korea Sends Destroyer After Pirates Seize Oil Tanker

Apr 6 2010 // South Korea has sent a destroyer to intercept a supertanker carrying as much as $170 million worth of crude oil that was seized by Somali pirates, officials said on Monday.The South Korean-operated, Singapore-owned Samho...

U.S. High Court Weighs Foreign Investors Suing in U.S. Courts

Apr 6 2010 // The Supreme Court indicated this week it could prohibit foreign investors from using U.S. securities law and American courts to sue a foreign bank for fraud.The court heard argument in a challenge from Australian investors...

3 From Mississippi Reportedly Sue Over Health Care Law

Apr 6 2010 // Three Mississippi residents have filed suit in federal court challenging the Obama Administration’s new health care law, a newspaper reported.The suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg on behalf...

Experts Estimate $300 Million in Losses from Mexico Earthquake

Apr 6 2010 // Damage estimates from Sunday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Mexico, just south of California, are not expected to exceed $1 billion, and insured losses should not exceed $300 million, according to risk modeling firm...

People

Apr 5 2010 // Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, based in Lansing, Mich., appointed Lisa Riddle the new vice president of Claims and Medical Operations.In her new role, Riddle is responsible for the strategic direction of...