Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Woman Found Guilty of Hurricane Irma Relief Fraud
Nov 25 2019 // A Florida woman has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining Hurricane Irma disaster relief money. Court records show that 37-year-old Karen Latrice Houston was convicted by a jury in Tampa federal court this week of three...
Philippines Taps Catastrophe Bonds to Help Pay for Natural Disasters
Nov 25 2019 // The Philippines, among the world’s most disaster-prone nations, sold its maiden foreign-currency catastrophe-linked bonds to help cover costs of major calamities, in conjunction with the World Bank. The dual-tranche...
Wildfires Likely to Boost California Surplus Lines Homeowners Share; FAIR Plan Expansion Questioned
Nov 22 2019 // Premium volume from homeowners polices written by California’s surplus lines industry, although still small, has doubled over the past four years, seemingly pushed by an increase in wildfires in the state. Some...
Magnitude 3.5 Earthquake Confirmed in Washington
Nov 22 2019 // The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network confirmed a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck the region near Coulee City and Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington state. The network reported the earthquake struck about 8:48 on...
Oregon City Paying $350K Linked to Earthquake Warning Sign Suit
Nov 22 2019 // Portland has agreed to pay $350,000 in attorneys’ fees related to a now-repealed policy that mandated warning signs on brittle brick buildings saying they are seismically unsafe. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the...
Feds Say Florida Officials Bilked FEMA Out of Hurricane Money
Nov 22 2019 // Two former officials of a Florida city are charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money, the U.S. attorney’s office announced...
PG&E Cuts Power to 50K California Homes And Businesses During Wildfire Risk
Nov 21 2019 // About 50,000 homes and businesses across Northern California were without power on Wednesday during the latest planned outage instituted by utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to guard against risk of wildfire during...
California Commissioner Issues Emergency Notice to Expedite Wildfire Claims
Nov 20 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued an emergency notice to all property/casualty insurers doing business in California requesting they expedite claims handling for wildfire survivors to help...
Texas Windstorm Insurer’s Actuarial Committee Recommends 5% Rate Hike
Nov 20 2019 // When the board of directors of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast meets in December, its members will be considering a 5% rate increase recommended by the...
Senate Banking Committee Advances Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal
Nov 20 2019 // Legislation to renew the federal terrorism reinsurance program advanced another step today when it was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The Senate legislation (S.2877) is identical to the bill (H.R. 4634) that...
House Passes Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal; Senate to Take Up Measure
Nov 19 2019 // The House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill reauthorizing the federal terrorism reinsurance program by a vote of 385-22. The vote came on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R....
Australia Warned to Expect More Fire Tornadoes
Nov 19 2019 // Fire tornadoes are set to become a more common feature of the Australian landscape as climate change takes hold later this century. That’s according to new research from the University of New South Wales’s...
Willis Re Securities Completes €120 Million Catastrophe Bond for France’s Covéa Mutual
Nov 19 2019 // Willis Re Securities reports it has structured and placed EUR 120 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) to provide reinsurance capacity for Covéa Mutual Insurance Group, France’s largest domestic...
Japan’s Largest Insurers Take Another Hit from Typhoon Losses
Nov 19 2019 // A string of powerful typhoons that struck Japan has left scars on the country’s non-life insurers, with industry giants likely forced to pay a combined $8 billion in insurance payments in the current fiscal year that...
Florida’s New Consumer Advocate Tackles Open Hurricane Michael Claims
Nov 19 2019 // Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter has been busy since taking office August 1. With more than 12,000 Hurricane Michael claims still open, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,...
Oklahoma Appeals Court Upholds Class Action Status for Earthquake Lawsuit
Nov 18 2019 // The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has upheld the class action designation of a lawsuit against an oil company over damage caused by earthquakes near Prague in November 2011, including one of magnitude 5.7. The court on...
Boosting Resilience to U.S. Wildfires Should Be Insurance Industry Priority: I.I.I.
Nov 18 2019 // Nearly a year after the deadliest and costliest wildfire in U.S. history, insurers and the customers they cover are revisiting how to reduce their collective exposure to this risk, according to the Insurance Information...
As Texas Windstorm Insurer Mulls Rates, Policyholders, Lawmakers Strongly Oppose Hikes
Nov 15 2019 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Gulf Coast is finding itself once again between a rock and a hard place — or perhaps more appropriately, between a hurricane and a...
North Carolina Officials Vote to Reopen Island Damaged by Hurricane Dorian
Nov 15 2019 // County commissioners on the North Carolina coast have moved to reopen an island ravaged by Hurricane Dorian. Acting on a recommendation from the Ocracoke Control Group, the Hyde County Commissioners on Monday adopted the...
Hail Has Damaged Insurance Market for Car Dealers. Parametric Insurance May Help.
Nov 14 2019 // Nick Pacifico has been working at his family’s Cadillac dealership in Denver since 2003. He’s never seen insurance costs this bad. “Getting coverage is nearly impossible,” said Pacifico, vice...
