Latest USA Headlines

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

New Specialty Re/Insurer Convex Authorized to Write Excess and Surplus Lines in U.S.

Oct 3 2019 // Convex Group, the Bermuda-based international specialty insurer and reinsurer, announces that its UK insurance subsidiary, Convex Insurance UK Ltd., has been added to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners...

Investors Betting Against U.S. Mortgage Market Are Banking on Mispriced Flood Risk

Oct 3 2019 // David Burt helped two of the protagonists of Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short bet against the U.S. mortgage market in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Now he’s betting against the market again, but...

Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy Sues Over Lack Of Transgender Insurance Coverage

Oct 3 2019 // A sheriff’s deputy in Perry, Ga., filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against the county where she works over its refusal to allow her health insurance plan to cover her gender-affirmation surgery. Sgt. Anna...

Manufacturer, Staffing Agency Sued for Harassment, Retaliation at Oklahoma Site

Oct 2 2019 // U.S. officials say Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) and ManpowerGroup US Inc. (Manpower) violated federal law when they fired a female employee who complained about sexual harassment at a JCI manufacturing facility in Norman,...

Judge Rules Harvard’s ‘Fine Admissions Policy’ Passes Constitutional Test

Oct 2 2019 // Harvard University’s undergraduate admissions program does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, rejecting a lawsuit brought by opponents of affirmative action and...

UPS Approved to Operate First U.S. Drone Airline for Non-Residential Deliveries

Oct 2 2019 // United Parcel Service Inc. on Tuesday said it won the U.S. government’s first full approval to operate a drone airline, which gave it a lead in the nascent U.S. drone delivery business over rivals Amazon.com Inc. and...

Third Point Re’s Wilson Joins Hamilton to Head U.S. Casualty, Specialty Reinsurance Unit

Oct 1 2019 // Bermuda-based specialty insurer and reinsurer Hamilton Insurance Group announced that Steve Wilson has been appointed senior vice president, head of Casualty & Specialty, for its new U.S. reinsurance platform. Wilson...

At $20K a Year, Health Insurance Costs Undermine Job-Based Health Insurance

Oct 1 2019 // The cost of family health coverage in the U.S. now tops $20,000, an annual survey of employers found, a record high that has pushed an increasing number of American workers into plans that cover less or cost more, or force...

EagleView Wins $125M Patent Infringement Award, Sales Halt Against Verisk

Sep 30 2019 // A New Jersey jury last week ordered insurance data services firm Verisk to pay $125 million to aerial imaging firm EagleView for lost profits linked to Verisk infringing on various EagleView patents. The jury verdict in...

Update on Lawsuits Targeting Vaping; Litigation Expected to Grow

Sep 30 2019 // Several deaths and potentially hundreds of illnesses tied to e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapor, often flavored, without smoking, have been reported by U.S. health agency. Lawsuits on behalf of young...

Insured Losses from Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$5 Billion to US$9 Billion: RMS

Sep 30 2019 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, has estimated that the insured loss from Typhoon Faxai will be between $5.0 and $9.0 billion (¥ 500 to ¥950 billion). This estimate includes property damage...

U.K. Embraces E-cigarettes, as U.S. Scrambles to Crack Down on Vaping

Sep 30 2019 // While the U.S. scrambles to crack down on vaping, Britain has embraced electronic cigarettes as a powerful tool to help smokers kick the habit. The Royal College of Physicians explicitly tells doctors to promote...

How Early Signs of Lung Effects of Vaping Were Missed and Downplayed

Sep 30 2019 // Scientists, regulators and e-cigarette proponents missed, ignored or downplayed signs that vaping could significantly damage the lungs for nearly a decade, a review of medical literature, government documents and...

Strong E&S Premium Growth in Response to Weak Results; Top 15 E&S Writers: Fitch

Sep 30 2019 // Direct written premiums in the U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) lines market during 2018 grew at its greatest rate since 2012, increasing 11% and representing the eighth consecutive year of premium growth, according to...

Parametric Catastrophe Facility CCRIF Pays US$12.8M to Bahamas for Dorian Damages

Sep 27 2019 // CCRIF has made two payouts to the government of The Bahamas totaling US$12.8 million in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, which caused widespread destruction in the northern part of the archipelago. The Bahamas has three...

U.S. Private Flood Insurance: The Journey to Build a New Market

Sep 27 2019 // Not long ago, private flood insurance was thought to be an impossible dream in the property/casualty sector. There were numerous arguments supporting the common wisdom that a meaningful market for residential flood...

Vaping Now Linked to 12 Deaths, 805 Illnesses in U.S.

Sep 27 2019 // U.S. health officials on Thursday reported 805 confirmed and probable cases and 12 deaths so far from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, with the outbreak showing no signs of losing steam. Last week, the U.S....

Local Officials from Across U.S. Pressure McDonald’s on Workplace Harassment Policies

Sep 27 2019 // Scores of local government officials from 31 U.S. states pressured McDonald’s Corp.’s on Thursday to do a better job of protecting workers from groping, obscene comments and other forms of sexual harassment,...

Boeing Vows New Safety Panel, Design Changes in Response to 737 Max Crashes

Sep 26 2019 // Boeing Co. aims to sharpen its focus on safety after the 737 Max’s grounding ends, forming a new oversight panel and recommending changes to the planemaker’s structure and design practices after two crashes...

U.S. Aviation Regulator Denies It Misled Congress on 737 Max Inspectors

Sep 25 2019 // American aviation regulators misled Congress about a whistle-blower’s allegation that many inspectors performing safety assessments on the now-grounded Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane weren’t properly qualified to...