Latest USA Headlines

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

U.S. Grand Jury Indicts “Dickie” Scruggs in Suspected Bribery Scheme

Nov 30 2007 // An attorney who helped negotiate a multibillion-dollar settlement against tobacco companies in the 1990s and has sued insurers over unpaid Hurricane Katrina claims was indicted in a suspected scheme to bribe a Mississippi...

Hurricances Spare U.S., Leaving Officials Worried About Public Apathy, Flood Policy Nonrenewals

Nov 29 2007 // Despite alarming predictions, the U.S. came through a second straight hurricane season virtually unscathed, raising fears among emergency planners that they will be fighting public apathy and overconfidence when they warn...

FBI Targets Miss. Lawyer Known for Handling Katrina Insurance Claims

Nov 29 2007 // FBI agents who searched the law offices of Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs on Tuesday left with copies of the office’s computer hard drives, a lawyer for the firm said Wednesday.Joey...

S&P: Discipline Will Be The Key To Insurers’ Success in 2008

Nov 28 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a report, noting the 2008 outlook for the North American property/casualty insurance, life, health, and reinsurance sectors are stable due to several years of strong...

Millea Group Ups Profit Forecast; Subprime Exposure $245 Million

Nov 20 2007 // Japan’s Millea Group – Tokio Marine, Nichido and Nissin Fire – increased its profit forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 2008 by Yen 7.7 billion ($70 million), despite some exposure to subprime...

16 Alabama Federal Judges Step Aside from Scruggs Contempt Case

Nov 19 2007 // Every eligible federal judge in north Alabama has stepped aside from presiding in the criminal contempt case of Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs, who is accused of disobeying an order by failing to turn over...

Spain’s Mapfre Sees Commerce as Portal to Expansion in U.S.

Nov 18 2007 // The potential of the Hispanic insurance market is one of the factors attracting Spanish insurer Mapfre to its acquisition of the Webster, Mass.-based personal lines writer Commerce Group.Mapfre officials calculate that...

U.S. Court Upholds State Farm’s Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause

Nov 18 2007 // A U.S. court of appeals ruling dashed the hopes of potentially hundreds of post-Hurricane Katrina claimants recently when it ruled a major insurer’s policy language unambiguous.The case is based on State Farm’s...

Miss. AG Hood Denies he Threatened to Indict State Farm CEO

Nov 18 2007 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood threatened to indict the chairman of State Farm Insurance Companies if the insurer didn’t settle lawsuits over thousands of Hurricane Katrina claims, according to the testimony...

Business Moves

Nov 18 2007 // CNACNA Financial Corp. recently announced a restructuring of its Property/Casualty Operations. The Chicago-based insurer said it aims to create a “more streamlined, customer-focused operating structure.” CNA,...

My New Markets

Nov 18 2007 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com.General Liability – Builders and...

State Farm Wins One, Loses One in Wind vs. Water Cases

Nov 18 2007 // A federal jury in New Orleans in early November sided with a south Louisiana couple who sued State Farm Insurance Cos. over damage to their property from Hurricane Katrina. Around the same time, a U.S. appeals court...

Nov 18 2007 // PeopleLockton Companies LLC appointed Frank Scardino as president of the company’s Dallas property and casualty operation. In his new position, Scardino is responsible for setting the vision and long-term strategies...

Insurers Facing More Frequent, More Expensive Lawsuits

Nov 18 2007 // The legal landscape may generally be changing for the better — but not necessarily for insurers, according to a recent survey by Fulbright & Jaworski. In its survey based on interviews with in-house counsel at 250...

TRIA Extension Must Pass Without NBCR Provision

Nov 18 2007 // After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the market for commercial property and liability insurance in large urban areas was in turmoil, as reinsurance for terrorism became expensive and scarce. Construction slowed...

Locked Into the Customer

Nov 18 2007 // Insurance Journal is pleased to launch a new series of profiles of privately-held property/casualty independent insurance agencies that qualify for the annual Insurance Journal Top 100 P/C Agency listing. What better place...

Residential Woes Continue Over EIFS

Nov 18 2007 // The use of the exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS), also referred to as “synthetic stucco,” in construction is nothing new to commercial or residential builders.EIFS, a multi-layered exterior structure...

Fitch Report ‘Positive’ on Central America Insurers

Nov 15 2007 // According to a report from Fitch Ratings – “Central America Insurance Sector-” there are “positive trends in premiums and operating expenses,” in the region, which have increased...

N.C. Engineering Firm to be Dropped from Miss. Katrina Insurance Suits

Nov 15 2007 // North Carolina-based Forensic Analysis and Engineering Corp., has reached a settlement with lawyers who have filed hundreds of lawsuits against State Farm Insurance Cos. on behalf of policyholders whose claims were denied...

Agents Tell Treasury Financial Regulation Study Questions Biased

Nov 15 2007 // A notice published in the Federal Register seeking comments for a broad Treasury Department review of financial regulation is biased in favor of federal regulation of insurance and foreign business entities, according to...