RenaissanceRe launches sidecar for Florida hurricane risks

By: Bill Kenealy

Published June 01, 2012 - 1:48pm CST

PEMBROKE, Bermuda—RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. on Friday said it would create a new Bermuda reinsurance sidecar to which it will cede a portfolio of Florida hurricane risks during the 2012 hurricane season.

NLRB reports on overbroad, unlawful social media policies

By: Judy Greenwald

Published June 01, 2012 - 1:39pm CST

The National Labor Relations Board has issued another report on social media policies in which it cites six cases where it contends employers' policies and rules were overbroad and unlawful.

GM offers lump sums, passes benefit payments to Prudential

By: Jerry Geisel

Published June 01, 2012 - 1:30pm CST

DETROIT—In a move to “de-risk” its pension liabilities that is unprecedented in scope, General Motors Co. said Friday that it will terminate its pension plan for salaried employees and retirees and buy a group annuity policy from Prudential Insurance Co. of America to cover the promised benefits.

IT company reaches settlement in DOJ's retaliation lawsuit

By: Matt Dunning

Published June 01, 2012 - 12:24pm CST

WASHINGTON—A New Jersey-based information technology staffing company agreed this week to settle a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit accusing the company of firing an employee for pointing out its allegedly biased hiring practices.

JPMorgan not triggering major regulatory rethink

Published June 01, 2012 - 12:00pm CST

NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. bank regulators are holding daily, high-level calls to try to understand how a seemingly low-risk unit at JPMorgan Chase & Co. was able to amass a $2 billion trading loss, but there are no immediate plans to revamp how the nation's largest banks are supervised, according to a source familiar with the matter.

AIG must pay $146.5M to settle alleged workers comp premium underreporting

By: Roberto Ceniceros

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:48am CST

HARRISBURG, Pa.—American International Group Inc. must pay state regulators $146.5 million by the end of June to settle 2006 allegations that its insurers underreported workers compensation premiums over several decades.

Oracle suffers major setback in Google case

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:00am CST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—A U.S. judge dismissed Oracle Corp.'s copyright claims against Google Inc. for parts of the Java programming language, knocking out Oracle's prime vehicle for damages in a high stakes legal battle over smartphones.

CSU increases Atlantic hurricane prediction for 2012

By: Mark A. Hofmann

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:36am CST

FORT COLLINS, Colo.—The hurricane forecasting team at Colorado State University has increased the number of hurricanes it expects to form in the Atlantic basin this hurricane season to five from the four predicted in April.

California construction firm agrees to fine, cleanup of damaged wetlands

By: Mike Tsikoudakis

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:29am CST

SAN FRANCISCO—A California construction company has agreed to a civil penalty of $170,000 for illegally dumping fill material into wetlands.

OFF BEAT: Jilted wife sues Nieman Marcus over guilt-gift refunds

Published June 01, 2012 - 11:12am CST

Beware of husbands bearing overly lavish gifts.

House panel approves bill to ease FSA ‘use-it-or-lose-it' rule

By: Jerry Geisel

Published June 01, 2012 - 9:44am CST

WASHINGTON—A decades-old Internal Revenue Service rule that requires forfeiture of unused flexible spending account balances would be eased, and health care reform law-imposed restrictions on using FSAs and health savings accounts to pay for over-the-counter medications would be eliminated, under separate bills approved Thursday by a panel of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mediobanca musters support to oust Generali CEO

Published June 01, 2012 - 8:15am CST

MILAN (Reuters)—Opponents of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. Chief Executive Giovanni Perissinotto are on the brink of unseating him in what they see as a key step in reviving the appeal of Italy's top insurer after months of underperformance.

GALLERY: Our most popular Off Beat stories from May

Published June 01, 2012 - 6:00am CST

This month: The riskiest pooches, Siri unwelcome at IBM, nudist colony mail deliveries and more

This week's Top 10 features on BusinessInsurance.com

Published June 01, 2012 - 6:00am CST

Find out which of this week's features on BusinessInsurance.com were the most popular.

Suspension of pension increases for N.J. public employees upheld

By: Matt Dunning

Published May 31, 2012 - 5:00pm CST

TRENTON—A New Jersey Superior Court judge has upheld a 2011 state law suspending automatic cost-of-living pension increases for retired state employees.

Defense of Marriage Act struck down by U.S. appeals court

By: Matt Dunning

Published May 31, 2012 - 4:07pm CST

BOSTON—The controversial federal law that effectively denies married same-sex couples the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples violates constitutional guarantee of equal protection, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Abacus Federal Savings Bank indicted for mortgage fraud

Published May 31, 2012 - 2:30pm CST

NEW YORK (Reuters)—Abacus Federal Savings Bank, which caters to Chinese immigrants in New York and other communities, has been charged with selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent mortgages to Fannie Mae.

Occidental must defend environmental lawsuit in U.S.

Published May 31, 2012 - 2:15pm CST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—A U.S. appeals court denied Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s request to revisit a prior ruling that an environmental lawsuit against the company must be litigated in the United States.

Most U.S. workers have little confidence in employers' natural disaster preparation

By: Rodd Zolkos

Published May 31, 2012 - 1:43pm CST

A new study suggests that the vast majority of U.S. workers have little confidence in their employers' preparation for dealing with natural disasters.

Employee's coffee-break injury not compensable: Court

By: Sheena Harrison

Published May 31, 2012 - 1:38pm CST

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that workers compensation benefits should be denied for a Missouri woman who twisted her ankle while making a pot of coffee for herself and her coworkers.

Out-of-network doctor's report admissible evidence in workers comp case: Court

By: Roberto Ceniceros

Published May 31, 2012 - 12:04pm CST

A report from a doctor who is not part of an employer's workers compensation medical network is admissible as evidence for determining benefits, a California appellate court ruled.

Ecuador plaintiffs file lawsuit in Canada against Chevron

Published May 31, 2012 - 11:30am CST

ONTARIO (Reuters)—Ecuadorean plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Canada as a first move outside their country to try and enforce an $18 billion court judgment against oil company Chevron Corp. for polluting the Amazon, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

EEOC wins summary judgment in retaliation case against BASF unit

By: Judy Greenwald

Published May 31, 2012 - 11:23am CST

URBANA, Ill.—A federal judge has ruled that a BASF Corp. unit unlawfully retaliated against an employee for refusing to waive his rights to file a discrimination charge, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

Repsol shareholders seek Argentina revenge for YPF takeover

Published May 31, 2012 - 11:15am CST

MADRID (Reuters)—Spanish oil company Repsol YPF S.A. will seek punitive damages from Argentina for the seizure of its Argentine energy unit Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales, its chairman warned, in a move backed by fuming shareholders on Thursday.