Latest USA Headlines

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

Reuters Special Report: J&J’s Secret Plan to Limit Payouts to Cancer Claimants

Feb 7 2022 // Johnson & Johnson created a plan last year to limit the financial bleeding from billions of dollars in jury awards to plaintiffs who alleged the company’s Baby Powder and other talc products caused deadly...

Montana Coal Mine Hit with $1M Fine over Safety Violations

Feb 7 2022 // A central Montana coal mine must pay a $1 million fine for violating environmental and employee safety regulations by failing to report worker injuries and improperly disposing of mine waste, the U.S. Attorney’s...

Business Moves

Feb 7 2022 // National Marsh McLennan, Affinity Agency Association Member Benefits Advisors, a national affinity-based membership and marketing insurance agency, has agreed to acquire the associations business of Mercer, a business of...

Loss Costs Outpace Increase in Premiums for U.S. P/C Industry Through Q3

Feb 7 2022 // Direct-premium production for the U.S. P/C industry through the third quarter 2021 improved as insurers increased rates, but adverse trends in loss costs for many lines of business continue to dampen profitability. Through...

U.S. Surplus Lines Premium Up 22% in 2021

Feb 7 2022 // Surplus lines premium increased 22% and transactions rebounded almost 6.6% over their 2020 totals in the 15 states with designated surplus lines’ stamping offices. The increases represented record levels of premium...

Judge Sides with Hawaiian Airlines on Vaccine Policy

Feb 4 2022 // A U.S. judge denied an attempt by seven employees to block Hawaiian Airlines’ policy requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination. The airline required U.S.-based employees to receive full...

Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $116B in 2021, or 63% Higher Than Average: Gallagher Re

Feb 4 2022 // Insured losses from major natural catastrophes in 2021 – excluding COVID-related losses – have so far reached an estimated US$116 billion, the third largest total since 2011, and about 63% higher than the average loss...

Threat of War in Ukraine Biggest Risk for Insurers of Beijing Winter Olympics

Feb 4 2022 // The threat of war between Russia and Ukraine is the biggest risk for insurers offering coverage during the Beijing Winter Olympics as an outbreak of hostilities could force team withdrawals or appearance cancellations,...

Sacklers Close to Agreement Increasing Opioid Settlement in Purdue Bankruptcy

Feb 3 2022 // Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma LP are nearing an agreement to boost their more than $4 billion offer to resolve sprawling opioid litigation after negotiating with states that had objected to terms of...

FAA Expects Addressing Safety Issues to Cause Only ‘Minimal Disruptions’ to Air Travel

Feb 3 2022 // The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is confident that aviation safety concerns about 5G C-Band deployment will be addressed “safely with minimal disruptions,” the head of the FAA will tell U.S. lawmakers...

More Than 1,000 Flights Canceled as Winter Storm Threatens Heavy Snow, Ice

Feb 2 2022 // Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, governors urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses as a huge swath of the U.S. braced for a major winter storm that was set to put millions of Americans in the...

California Universal Health Care Bill Fails to Pass

Feb 2 2022 // A bill that would have created the nation’s only government-funded universal health care system died in the California Assembly on Monday as Democrats could not gather enough support to bring it for a vote ahead of a...

Use of Fertilizer Behind Explosions, Fires Declines Due to High Risks

Feb 2 2022 // The nitrogen fertilizer causing a stir over imminent danger of explosion in North Carolina has been fading from the U.S. market exactly because of this kind of risk. Ammonium nitrate was the first solid nitrogen fertilizer...

How Autonomous Car Companies Are Outrunning U.S. Regulators and Lawmakers

Feb 2 2022 // Self-driving vehicle companies from Tesla Inc. to General Motors Co.’s Cruise are racing to start making money with their technology, outrunning efforts by regulators and Congress to write rules of the road for...

Global Commercial Insurance Rates Keep Moderating, With Exception of Cyber: Marsh

Feb 2 2022 // Global commercial insurance prices increased 13% in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decline from the 15% increases seen in both the second and third quarters, according to Marsh’s latest Global Insurance Market...

U.S. Offers States $1.15B to Clean Up Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells

Feb 1 2022 // The Biden administration on Monday said it would make $1.15 billion available to states to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells as part of a broad effort to reduce U.S. climate warming emissions and improve health and...

13 States Agree U.S. Law Does Not Bar Mexico’s $10B Suit Against U.S. Gun Makers

Feb 1 2022 // Thirteen U.S. states and two Latin America and Caribbean nations on Monday threw their support behind a lawsuit from Mexico that accuses several major U.S. gun makers of facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug...

Tesla to Recall Vehicles That May Disobey Stop Signs

Feb 1 2022 // Tesla Inc. will recall 53,822 U.S. vehicles with the company’s Full Self-Driving (Beta) software that may allow some models to conduct “rolling stops” and not come to a complete stop at some intersections...

MGA Aqueous Secures New Professional Indemnity Capacity From Great American Int’l

Feb 1 2022 // Aqueous Underwriting has secured increased capacity under plans to expand its foothold across the UK professional indemnity insurance market in 2022. The specialist managing general agent can now offer cover for limits up...

Police Officer’s Immunity Does Not Extend to New York County Employer: U.S. Court

Jan 27 2022 // A municipality in New York may be held liable for wrongful action by an employee even though the employee was granted individual immunity. A police detective found liable by a jury for a false arrest was entitled to...