Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Government Fails to Block Liability Lawsuit Over Failed Background Check on Shooter
Sep 3 2019 // A lawsuit over a faulty background check that allowed a South Carolina man to buy the gun he used to kill nine people in a racist attack at a Charleston church was reinstated Friday by a federal appeals court. A...
Category 5 Dorian Batters Bahamas; Florida, Southeast Coast Await Fate
Sep 2 2019 // Sept. 2, 2019, 7:12 AM EST— Hurricane Dorian, tied as the most powerful storm to hit land anywhere in the Atlantic, battered the Bahamas inflicting colossal damage to property and infrastructure across the chain of...
People & Places
Sep 2 2019 // National Reinsurance broker BMS Group has named Pete Chandler as president of its U.S. reinsurance operations. Chandler joins from JLT Re, where he was deputy CEO of the U.S. reinsurance broking arm of the group. He joined...
First-Half 2019 Records Drop in P/C Insurers’ Underwriting Income; Downgrades Outpace Upgrades: A.M. Best
Sep 2 2019 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net underwriting income declined by 9.6% to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2019, compared with $5.3 billion in the same prior-year period, A.M. Best reports. Also, ongoing...
Fake Claims, Price Gouging, Bogus Contractors in Times of Disaster
Sep 2 2019 // As the scale and frequency of major disasters escalate, millions of dollars in federal, state and insurance payments intended for recovery efforts are being stolen by fraudsters taking advantage of chaos and the pipeline...
U.S. Gulf Coast Refineries Keeping an Eye on Hurricane Dorian
Aug 30 2019 // Chevron Corp’s 356,440 barrel-per-day Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery is closely monitoring the progress of Hurricane Dorian, a company spokesman said on Thursday. Dorian is churning across the Atlantic Ocean...
Texas Hospital Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Suit for $40K
Aug 30 2019 // San Antonio, Texas-based Nix Hospitals System LLC, doing business as Nix Healthcare System, has agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a federal pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment...
Automakers Call for Urgency in Advancing U.S. Rules for Self-Driving Vehicles
Aug 30 2019 // Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc, on Thursday urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “promptly” remove regulatory barriers for cars without steering...
New Specialty Broker McGill & Partners Forms U.S. Subsidiary
Aug 29 2019 // The new London-based insurance broker, McGill & Partners, is forming a Delaware-based subsidiary and is obtaining U.S. licenses to operate, the company’s founder Steve McGill has confirmed. When McGill &...
Purdue Pharma Floats $10-$12 Billion Opioid Settlement: Reuters
Aug 28 2019 // OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said...
Tropical Storm Dorian to Drench Puerto Rico; Then Could Hit Florida as Hurricane
Aug 28 2019 // Tropical Storm Dorian is about to lash Puerto Rico with torrential rains, and then is expected to gain strength and become the first major hurricane to hit Florida’s east coast in 15 years. Chances are increasing...
Opioid Epidemic Could Threaten Europe Too: Viewpoint
Aug 28 2019 // As drugmakers are being held responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, it might look at though they have nothing to fear in Europe, where, it’s often assumed, opioid misuse isn’t so rampant. The...
Update: Tropical Storm Dorian to Sideswipe Puerto Rico, but Heads to Florida
Aug 28 2019 // Tropical Storm Dorian is about to sideswipe Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. And if you live on Florida’s east coast, it may be time to start gathering supplies. Chances are increasing that the storm will...
Burger King Franchise in Oklahoma to Pay $30K to Settle Disability Discrimination Suit
Aug 28 2019 // The operators of a Lawton, Okla., Burger King restaurant have agreed to pay $30,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by federal officials. In a lawsuit filed in July 2018, the...
Auto Safety Test Pits Traditional Car Mirrors v. Rear/Side Cameras
Aug 28 2019 // The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to test how drivers could use cameras to replace traditional rearview mirrors in automobiles, a technology already allowed in other countries, the agency said...
Hiscox Names O’Hara U.S. Southwest Regional Executive
Aug 27 2019 // Hiscox has named Landon O’Hara Southwest regional executive in the US. O’Hara will be based in Los Angeles an oversee the Southwest region underwriting team at Hiscox. O’Hara will serve as a member of the...
Fargo Appointed Chairman of USAA in San Antonio
Aug 27 2019 // Retired U.S. Navy Adm. Thomas B. Fargo has been named chairman of San Antonio-based USAA. Adm. Fargo is the financial services and insurance group’s 22nd chairman. He succeeds retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lester L....
Chronic Commercial Auto Insurance Underwriting Losses to Continue in 2019: Fitch
Aug 27 2019 // U.S. property/casualty insurers continue to face substantial underwriting losses on commercial automobile insurance and, following a statutory combined ratio of 108% in 2018, the segment is poised for a ninth consecutive...
Other Opioid Lawsuit Plaintiffs Welcome Oklahoma Ruling Affirming Public Nuisance
Aug 27 2019 // While some Johnson & Johnson investors were relieved that the company’s $572 million penalty for fueling Oklahoma’s opioid epidemic wasn’t as high as feared, lawyers for other U.S. states, cities and...
Why Are Amazon Fires Potentially Sparking Global Climate Crisis?
Aug 26 2019 // A record number of fires ravaging the Amazon has drawn international outrage because of the rainforest’s importance to the global environment and prompted Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to dispatch the military...
