A huge relief effort was accelerating in storm-struck Texas Monday as the big oil center of Houston struggled to get back to business after it was battered by Hurricane Ike. About 2,000 people had been rescued from flooded areas in …
Collective Brands Inc. says a federal judge in Oregon has reduced by almost 80 percent a judgment against the company in a trademark infringement case. The Topeka-based shoe maker and retailer, formerly known as Payless ShoeSource, said late Friday, September …
The owner of a Chicago pizzeria has been charged with allegedly hiring a street gang to set fire in 2000 to a building he owned to collect on the insurance. Robert Didiana, owner of the Bacci pizzeria chain, was arrested …
Independent insurance agents want their property/casualty insurance carriers to provide quality claims service above all else, according to an exclusive survey of agents’ attitudes about the insurers their agencies use. Independent agents named quality claims service as the number-one factor …
A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “aa” from “a+” of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty AG (AGCS), and has also upgraded the FSR …
“The global reinsurance market plays an integral role in spreading US hurricane risk around the world,” said a bulletin from the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR). “Without it, the risk would be concentrated in a single state (or …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ratings on American International Group Inc. – currently ‘AA-‘ /A-1+ – and subsidiaries on CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P said it took the action following the “significant decline in AIG’s share price …
Oregon Health & Science University and the state’s trial lawyers have proposed a new limit for damage claims against government agencies. The sides recommend the current liability cap of $200,000 be boosted to $1.5 million next summer, The Oregonian newspaper …
The former U.S. Forest Service employee who started the worst wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history testified she burned the letter blamed for igniting the blaze as a “symbolic gesture” of her failing marriage. Terry Lynn Barton took the stand in …
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says the operator of Darby Mine No. 1 in Harlan County, Kentucky will pay $342,000 for violations stemming from the 2006 mine blast that killed five people. MSHA says Kentucky Darby LLC has …