Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Climate Change Tops List of World’s ‘Extreme Risks’
Sep 12 2019 // Global temperature change, global trade collapse and cyber warfare are the top three “extreme risks” identified in a study from Willis Towers Watson. The new paper out this month is part of the firm’s...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Names Actuarial/Underwriting Committee Members
Sep 12 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has identified appointees to its Actuarial/Underwriting Committee. The committee has historically developed recommendations to the TWIA Board concerning association rate filings,...
Buildings Damaged by Severe Weather, Including Likely Tornado, in South Dakota
Sep 12 2019 // Severe weather, including a probable tornado, struck South Dakota’s largest city late on Tuesday, leaving a trail of damaged buildings, downed power lines, fallen trees and some reports of injuries, officials...
Report: Texas Cities Included in Areas with Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage
Sep 12 2019 // In its 2019 Wildfire Risk report, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, CoreLogic, shows that across the nation nearly 776,000 homes with an associated reconstruction cost value of...
Report: $221B in Western U.S. Homes at Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage
Sep 12 2019 // Nearly 776,000 homes with a reconstruction cost value of more than $221 billion are at extreme risk of wildfire damage, a new report out Thursday shows. The 2019 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report examines single-family and...
Tornado Touched Down Near Portland, NWS Confirms
Sep 11 2019 // A storm cell that passed over Portland, Ore., prompted two tornado warnings after trained storm spotters saw funnel clouds north and south of the Columbia River. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that forecasters said the...
FEMA Officials Arrested on Fraud Charges Linked to Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Aid
Sep 11 2019 // Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to...
Loss Creep Spells End to Soft Reinsurance Market: Guy Carpenter
Sep 10 2019 // Extended development from North American hurricane losses and losses from non-peak perils like California wildfires have finally jolted reinsurers out of a soft reinsurance market, according to a report from reinsurance...
TV Show ‘Young Sheldon’ Fined for Fake Tornado Warning
Sep 10 2019 // The hit CBS Corp. comedy “Young Sheldon” about a child genius, wasn’t so smart when it came to a mock tornado warning, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Even modified, the tornado...
Outrage over PG&E’s Plan to Cap California Wildfire Liabilities at $18B
Sep 10 2019 // California utility giant PG&E Corp. has issued its long-awaited plan for emerging from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history: Raise debt, offer equity and cap the wildfire liabilities that led to its collapse...
Hurricane Dorian Insured Losses in Caribbean from Wind, Storm-Surge Could Hit $6.5B
Sep 10 2019 // Insured losses in the Caribbean from Hurricane Dorian is estimated at $3.5 billion to $6.5 billion, according to RMS, the risk modeling and analytics firm. This estimate represents insured losses associated with wind and...
Typhoon Faxai Makes Landfall in Tokyo Area, Killing 1, Disrupting Travel
Sep 10 2019 // A typhoon blew across the Tokyo metropolitan area Monday morning, killing one person and causing dozens of injuries, while disrupting rush-hour travel and knocking out power. Several railway and subway operators suspended...
The Aftermath of Hurricane Dorian: Southeast States ‘Dodged a Bullet’
Sep 10 2019 // Residents and the insurance industry in Southeast states are feeling relieved after Hurricane Dorian grazed the U.S. coastline last week just days after it caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas. While the storm was at...
Billion Dollar Loss Scenarios Point to Need to Better Understand Cyber Events
Sep 9 2019 // As the cyber insurance market has continued its rapid growth, its loss vulnerabilities have become increasingly clear. A new report from Guy Carpenter and CyberCube Analytics has identified potential loss scenarios in the...
Aon Launches Real-Time Loss Forecasting for U.S. Hurricanes, European Windstorms
Sep 9 2019 // Aon plc has launched Automated Event Response (AER), designed to enable insurers to view real-time portfolio risks from two of the costliest perils: U.S. hurricane and European windstorm. Insurers, which aim to indemnify...
Burns & Wilcox to Offer Wildfire Management Services to Policyholders in the West
Sep 9 2019 // Burns & Wilcox has formed an exclusive partnership with Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc. (WDS) to provide WDS’ full suite of wildfire prevention and mitigation services to homeowners, with no minimum property value...
NC Insurance Department Ready to Assist with Dorian Claims, Warns of Fraud
Sep 6 2019 // As Hurricane Dorian finally begins to move away from the North Carolina coast, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey says the North Carolina Department of Insurance is ready to assist with any insurance related...
Hurricane Dorian Begins Moving Away from Carolina Coast
Sep 6 2019 // Sep 6, 2019, 7:48 AM— Hurricane Dorian is churning over the Outer Banks of North Carolina, battering the shore with driving rain and wind as it continues its march north and begins moving away from the U.S. coast. The...
Thousands Are Missing, Including Many Children, After Worst Hurricane to Hit Bahamas
Sep 6 2019 // Richard Johnson said his six-year-old brother Adrian was just too small to withstand Hurricane Dorian. The boy was blown into churning storm surge and is among thousands of people missing, many of them children, after the...
Total Losses in Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian Estimated at $7 Billion
Sep 5 2019 // Hurricane Dorian inflicted an estimated $7 billion in total insured and uninsured losses on the Bahamas, according to catastrophe risk modeling firm Karen Clark & Company (KCC). This includes building, contents, and...
