Government News

Swiss Re: Investment Managers Face ‘New, Challenging Environment’

Swiss Re’s latest sigma study, #5/2010, – “Insurance investment in a challenging global environment” – warns that a “low yield environment coupled with tighter regulatory standards could hamper insurers’ investment returns, leading to lower profits for the industry and higher …

Melting Siberian Permafrost Raises Tricky Climate Issue

The Russian scientist shuffles across the frozen lake, scuffing aside ankle-deep snow until he finds a cluster of bubbles trapped under the ice. With a cigarette lighter in one hand and a knife in the other, he lances the ice …

DuPont Worried About Publicity in West Virginia Zinc-Smelting Case

DuPont will likely seek to sequester jurors in a 2011 trial that could determine whether it must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to some 8,500 West Virginians who won a toxic-exposure case three years ago. At a …

Best Affirms Fremont’s ‘A-‘ Ratings

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Fremont Insurance Company, as well as the ICR of “bbb-” of its parent holding company, Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp, Inc. (OTC …

Mississippi Court Rejects Bad Faith Part of Katrina Damages Award

The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld a breach-of-contract verdict in a dispute between an insurance company and a retired Navy admiral over coverage of damages from Hurricane Katrina. However, the high court said Admiral James W. Lisanby and his wife, …

Safety Officials Warn 13 Mines in 7 States

Federal regulators late Friday warned 13 mining operations in seven states, including two owned by troubled Massey Energy Co., to show improvement on safety or face stricter enforcement. The Mine Safety and Health Administration says a 14th mining operation, Massey’s …

Kentucky Jury Awards $42 Million in Nursing Home Death

The family of a man who died after nine days in a Madisonville nursing home has won a $42.75 million verdict. Attorney Lisa Circeo argued in court that 92-year-old Joseph Clint Offutt died because Harborside of Madisonville staff neglected him. …

New York Agents Lose Court Battle over Compensation Disclosure

New York agents failed to make their case that insurance regulators cannot require agents and brokers to disclose their commissions, a Supreme Court judge has ruled. That just-released decision by Supreme Court Justice Richard M. Platkin appears to end for …

Deal Settles Most Lawsuits over WTC Toxic Dust

A deal reached by New York City and workers exposed to toxic dust that blanketed ground zero after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will resolve an overwhelming majority of the lawsuits over the city’s failure to provide protective equipment to …

Rhode Island Charges Ex-Providence Politician with Fraud

A former North Providence councilman already accused of corruption was indicted Thursday along with three others, including an on-air radio personality, of trying to rip off an insurance company by intentionally damaging a home and filing a bogus claim. A …