Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana Issues Insurer Data Call for Hurricane Delta Damage Claims
Oct 30 2020 // Property/casualty insurance companies in Louisiana, including those that write private and/or excess flood coverage, as well as surplus lines insurers, have been directed to report claims data arising from Hurricane Delta...
Scientists Want New Framework for Understanding California Wildfire Costs, Risks
Oct 29 2020 // A new report out shows challenges current fire management policies in California, proposes a new framework for understanding the total cost of wildfire in the state and suggests that health impacts from smoke my represent...
Americas Insurance Waiving Separate Deductible in Louisiana After Delta, Laura
Oct 29 2020 // Americas Insurance Company will be waiving a separate deductible for Hurricane Delta for Louisiana insureds that were impacted by both Hurricanes Laura and Delta, provided they have satisfied their full named-storm...
Utility in California Slow to Pull Plug Before Wildfire Erupted
Oct 29 2020 // Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the Associated Press misspelled the last name of Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included...
Fast-Moving Zeta Wallops Louisiana, Causes Blackouts Across South; Damages Could Hit $5B
Oct 29 2020 // Tropical Storm Zeta is spinning across the U.S. South after walloping New Orleans, blacking out 1.9 million homes and businesses and leaving a trail of wreckage from Louisiana to North Carolina. Zeta made landfall near...
New Storm Takes Aim at Philippines, Just Days After Devastation of Typhoon Molave
Oct 29 2020 // The Philippines is bracing for a new storm that will hit the Southeast Asian nation this weekend, days after Typhoon Molave left at least 16 people dead and thousands in evacuation sites. Goni, which developed into a...
Typhoon Molave Slams Vietnam, Killing at Least 16: News Report
Oct 29 2020 // Typhoon Molave hit Vietnam’s central coastline and northern Central Highlands with winds of up to 133 kilometers per hour on Wednesday, triggering landslides in Quang Nam province, VnExpress news website reported,...
Florida Property Insurance Market Inches Closer to Crisis – Part 1
Oct 29 2020 // After years of warnings that the Florida property insurance market was heading towards an availability crisis, many in the industry say the moment of reckoning has arrived. They blame unchecked claims litigation from...
Chubb Weathers $1 Billion in Catastrophes, Gains New Business in COVID Economy in 3Q
Oct 29 2020 // Chubb’s net income grew by 9 percent in the 2020 third quarter, which CEO Evan Greenberg credited to rate hikes and improving underwriting conditions despite a tough environment shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The...
Hurricane Zeta Slams Louisiana With High Winds, Storm Surge
Oct 28 2020 // Oct 28 06:10 PM. Hurricane Zeta smashed into Louisiana on Wednesday with 110-mile-per-hour (175 kph) winds and what government trackers called “a life-threatening storm surge,” the third hurricane to hit the...
Correction: Southern California Edison Says Equipment May Have Sparked Wildfire
Oct 28 2020 // Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the...
Typhoon Molave Heads to Vietnam After Killing at Least 9 People in Philippines
Oct 27 2020 // Typhoon Molave killed at least nine people and left 13 others missing in the Philippines, according to disaster-response officials, before heading over to the South China Sea on its way to Vietnam. The storm affected more...
UPDATE: Tropical Storm Zeta Makes Landfall in Mexico, Threatens U.S. Gulf Coast
Oct 27 2020 // Zeta will move into the Gulf of Mexico in the next few hours after making landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, then regain strength as it heads north toward Louisiana and likely comes ashore Wednesday. Now a tropical storm...
Some Alaskans Beyond Danger Received Tsunami Warning
Oct 26 2020 // Some Alaska residents received tsunami warnings on their cellphones following an earthquake earlier this week, including customers in the Anchorage area who were outside the potential danger zone. There was no concern over...
BP Evacuates Staff from 4 Gulf of Mexico Oil Platforms as Tropical Storm Zeta Intensifies
Oct 26 2020 // BP on Sunday said it has begun to evacuate four offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and secure facilities as Tropical Storm Zeta sprang up in the Caribbean Sea. The 27th named storm of this year’s Atlantic...
Scientists Identify Nuclear Plants Facing Highest Risks From Earthquakes
Oct 26 2020 // The U.S. nuclear power reactors facing the highest risks of a meltdown from earthquakes are not in tremor-prone California, but states including South Carolina and Missouri, an analysis of government data published on...
Swiss Re Capital Markets Places $775M Cat Bond for California Earthquake Authority
Oct 23 2020 // Swiss Re Capital Markets has successfully structured and placed the issuance of USD $775 million of insurance-linked securities by Ursa Re II Ltd. to be used for the protection of the California Earthquake Authority. CEA...
Everest Re Estimates Third Quarter 2020 Catastrophe Losses of $300 Million
Oct 23 2020 // Everest Re Group Ltd. is estimating pre-tax net catastrophe losses of $300 million for the third quarter 2020. The estimate includes the impact of Hurricanes Laura, Isaias and Sally, wildfires in California and Oregon, and...
Hurricane Epsilon Bypasses Bermuda and Heads into North Atlantic
Oct 23 2020 // Bermuda has been spared the worst of Hurricane Epsilon, which passed 200 miles to the east of the island and is heading , according to a report from Weather Underground. However, Epsilon’s large size, at times,...
Washington Developing Wildfire Smoke Worker-Safety Rules
Oct 23 2020 // The Washington Department of Labor & Industries is developing new workplace safety and health rules regarding wildfire smoke. The L&I announced the move this week in response to an increasing number of acres burned...
