Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawsuit Over Worker Safety at Smithfield’s Missouri Pork Plant Dismissed
May 7 2020 // A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a worker advocacy group’s lawsuit accusing Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork processor, of failing to adequately protect employees from the novel coronavirus at...
Hiscox Raises £375M to Respond to U.S. Wholesale, Reinsurance Growth Opportunities
May 6 2020 // Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox has successfully raised capital of approximately £375 million (US$465 million) as a result of an equity placement of new ordinary shares. The company announced the equity placing on May 5,...
Meat Workers Taking Leave, Quitting as Plants Reopen Amid Coronavirus Scare
May 6 2020 // America’s meat-processing plants are starting to reopen but not all workers are showing up. Some still fear they’ll get sick after coronavirus outbreaks shut more than a dozen facilities last month. Employees...
Goodbye Open Plan Office? Hello 6-Feet Social Distancing Workspace?
May 6 2020 // One-way corridors, buffer zones around desks, and clear plastic screens to guard against colleagues’ coughs and sneezes may become office standards after coronavirus stay-at-home orders are lifted, say occupational...
Drugmaker Questioned for Nearly Tripling Price of Potential COVID-19 Drug
May 5 2020 // The chair of a House of Representatives committee and a fellow Democratic committee member on Monday urged Jaguar Health Inc. to reverse recent price hikes of a drug that could be used to treat side effects in COVID-19...
RMS Releases High Definition Models for European Severe Convective Storm
May 5 2020 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, announced the release of new European Severe Convective Storm (EU SCS) High Definition Models. The models represent 50,000 years of simulation of hail and...
AIG Takes Hit from Coronavirus in Q1; Sees Industry’s ‘Biggest CAT Loss Ever’ Ahead
May 5 2020 // Insurer American International Group Inc. on Monday posted a 93% drop in quarterly adjusted profit, as it set aside money to cover claims related to the COVID-19 outbreak, which it called the single largest catastrophe...
Zurich North America Adds Chubb/ACE Veteran Wells as U.S. Head of Middle Market
May 4 2020 // Zurich North America has appointed Alexander Wells as U.S. head of Middle Market. He will be responsible for the strategic management and development of Zurich’s Middle Market business. Wells, who is new to Zurich,...
Senators Seek to Address Privacy Concerns Over Tech Firms’ Covid-19 Contact Tracing
May 4 2020 // A group of Republican U.S. senators said Thursday they would introduce legislation to address consumer privacy concerns surrounding technology companies’ efforts to help build contact tracing apps to fight the new...
Republicans Rally Around Call for Legal Immunity for Businesses When They Reopen
May 4 2020 // The top Republicans in the U.S. Congress displayed a united front on Friday in their drive for coronavirus-related liability protections for businesses, saying such measures will be crucial to talks about future relief...
People & Places
May 4 2020 // Chubb has expanded its North America claims leadership team with two appointments. Bill Hazelton has been named head of Chubb North America Claims, and Megan Watt has been appointed to a newly created leadership role as...
Some Auto Insurer Premium Discounts Should Be Bigger, Consumer Groups Say
May 4 2020 // Two consumer groups said on April 23 that some of the largest U.S. auto insurers, including billionaire Warren Buffett’s Geico Corp., are short-changing customers on premium rebates as Americans drive less due to...
Coronavirus Cases Surge in Reopened Colorado Beef Plant, Worker Dies
May 1 2020 // COVID-19 cases at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado have more than doubled “in a number of days” and a sixth employee died of the virus, a union official said on Thursday, underscoring the risks of U.S. meat...
Non-Life Insurance Claims from Pandemic to Surpass 9/11 Claims: Willis Towers Watson
May 1 2020 // Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson on Friday estimated general insurance losses between $32 billion and $80 billion across key classes in the United States and UK from the novel coronavirus, surpassing claims from the...
States Under Pressure to Lift Coronavirus Restrictions as Unemployment Grows
May 1 2020 // As White House economic reopening guidance expired on Thursday after two weeks in place, half of all U.S. states forged ahead with easing restrictions on restaurants, retail and other businesses in hopes of reviving...
How Cruise Ticket Legal Language May Foil Class Action Suits
Apr 30 2020 // After two passengers on their luxury cruise tested positive for Covid-19 in March, Emilio and Barbara Hernandez were so frantic to get off the ship, they wrote a note to the captain. The Costa Luminosa sailed on with them...
Markel Estimates COVID-19 Losses of $325 Million
Apr 30 2020 // Diverging from strategies of some competitors, Markel Corp. established a big reserve for a chunk of its potential COVID-19 exposure for the entire year—putting up $325 million for direct potential losses. The holding...
NTSB: Failure to Heed Warnings Led to Missouri Duck Boat Sinking
Apr 30 2020 // The primary cause of the sinking of a tourist-carrying duck boat on a Missouri lake in July 2018, in which 17 people were killed, was the continued operation of the vessel during severe weather, despite severe weather...
Consumer Groups Oppose Immunity for Businesses From Coronavirus Lawsuits
Apr 30 2020 // U.S. consumer advocates are urging Congress to resist growing demands by companies for protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits as states start to ease pandemic restrictions and businesses begin to reopen. Led by...
U.S. Economy Hit Hard in Q1 But Worse Contraction Still to Come
Apr 29 2020 // The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace since the Great Recession as stringent measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus almost shut down the country, ending the longest expansion...
