Latest USA Headlines

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

RBS Extends Insurance Offer Deadline into June

May 30 2008 // Initial, informal offers for Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm are unlikely before next week after a first deadline was delayed on the request of several suitors, sources close to the process said.First-round...

Europe’s Insurers Lead M&A Activity Says Conning Report

May 29 2008 // “Global insurance industry acquisitions in 2007 were driven by non-U.S. insurers, primarily Western European firms-who clearly see value in this market,” stated Sherry Manetta, director at Conning Research...

U.S. Risk Launches MedTour Pro for Medical Tourism Industry

May 29 2008 // U.S. Risk Underwriters, a subsidiary of U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. launched a new professional liability product for the medical tourism industry called MedTour Pro.MedTour Pro is designed for medical tourism...

Generali Pulls Out of RBS Insurance Deal as Deadline Nears

May 29 2008 // Italy’s Generali dropped out of the running for Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm on Wednesday, hours ahead of a first bid deadline, prompting speculation that interest in the asset is fading.RBS,...

Prosecutors Seek Jail Term for Former Trial Attorney Weiss

May 27 2008 // Federal prosecutors Friday recommended Melvyn Weiss, the long-reigning king of multibillion-dollar U.S. class action litigation, spend no more than 33 months in jail for paying secret kickbacks to clients.Weiss, 72,...

Anti-Bias Laws Cover Retaliation Claims, U.S. Supreme Court Rules

May 27 2008 // Employees who complain of racial bias in the workplace and then face retaliation can sue under a post-Civil War-era law barring discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.In a second similar decision, the high...

Insurance Australia Group CEO Steps Down After Rejection of QBE Bid

May 27 2008 // It didn’t take long for a number of angry shareholders of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to exert enough pressure to force the summary resignation of CEO Michael Hawker. IAG’s board rejected the A$8.2 billion...

Zurich Favored to Buy RBS Insurance

May 27 2008 // Rivals are circling Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm as a bid deadline approaches, but aside from Zurich Financial Services, few may have the desire and firepower to buy Britain’s largest motor...

Lawsuits Against Lenders Accelerate Amid U.S. Housing Crisis

May 27 2008 // The U.S. housing crisis has caused huge loan losses at big lenders but also spawned a slew of class-action lawsuits against them, many alleging noncompliance with consumer disclosure rules.“The compliance issue is a...

Zurich Frontrunner for Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance Buy

May 23 2008 // Rivals are circling Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm as a bid deadline approaches, but aside from Zurich Financial Services, few may have the desire and firepower to buy Britain’s largest motor...

U.S. Offers Political Risk Insurance for Investments in Palestinian Economy

May 23 2008 // A U.S. government agency signed a political risk insurance deal with a Palestinian firm Thursday to help guarantee investments in the West Bank as part of an international effort to develop the beleaguered local...

Howden Launches U.S. Wholesale Brokerage Division in Miami

May 23 2008 // Miami-based Howden, specialist liability broker and part of the global insurance group Hyperion, launched a new wholesale brokerage division. Howden Broking Group’s Miami office will offer brokers a global network of...

Mass. Approves Mapfre Acquisition of Commerce Insurance

May 22 2008 // Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance Nonnie S. Burnes has approved the acquisition of Commerce Insurance Co., principal subsidiary of The Commerce Group of Webster, Mass., by the Spanish insurance company Mapfre,...

Even Rich Feel Pinch as U.S. Economic Woes Move Up Income Ladder

May 22 2008 // The lifestyles of the rich may be set for a downgrade as the U.S. economic malaise works its way up the income ladder, according to a survey released Wednesday.The sharp slide in confidence among lower-income households...

Scientists Predict $200B in Damage from Southern California Earthquake

May 22 2008 // The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the California Geological Survey (CGS) have jointly published a report detailing a hypothetical scenario the impact a 7.8 magnitude earthquake — similar to the recent earthquake...

Judge: Evidence Showed Greenberg Phone Call in AIG/General Re Case

May 21 2008 // A U.S. judge who oversaw the trial of executives accused of helping American International Group Inc. inflate reserves said there was sufficient evidence to show the conspiracy started with a phone call from the...

Proposals Issued for WTO Doha Deal

May 20 2008 // Mediators in the core agriculture and industrial goods negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued new proposals on Monday, clearing the way for a meeting of ministers to clinch an outline trade deal.The...

U.S. Insurers Face Uphill Battle to Alter Foreign Insurers’ Tax Break

May 19 2008 // A coalition of U.S. insurers is calling on lawmakers to close a tax loophole that helps foreign insurers, and although it has won the support of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, it faces a harder task convincing...

Insurers Market Private Workers’ Comp on U.S. Defense Projects

May 19 2008 // As the need for U.S. government foreign-based support personnel increases, so does the need for workers’ compensation coverage for contractors involved in U.S. funded projects.Contracts for insurers wanting to...

A.M. Best: Credit Woes May Cause Turbulence in Catastrophe Markets

May 19 2008 // The credit crunch in the U.S. financial markets that boiled over after the subprime mortgage meltdown may affect the ability of insurers and reinsurers that cover coastal areas to raise cash for claims if a major hurricane...