Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Travelers Gives Agents Aerial Property Damage Viewer to Expedite Disaster Claims
Sep 24 2019 // Property/casualty insurer Travelers is now providing its insurance agents and brokers with before-and-after photos of areas affected by disasters. The Travelers Catastrophe Map Viewer provides access to searchable,...
Alaska Has This Year’s Most Expensive Wildfire in U.S.
Sep 24 2019 // The nation’s most expensive wildfire this year is one that has been burning for months on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The Swan Lake Fire has so far cost about $46 million to fight, according to the National...
Rethinking the Limits of Parametric Insurance
Sep 24 2019 // It’s time to rethink the limits of parametric insurance. The concept behind parametric insurance is not new. Insurance payouts automatically triggered by an event exceeding an index level have existed for decades....
PG&E Attacks Plan for Paying California Wildfire Victims Before Insurers
Sep 23 2019 // PG&E Corp. and a group of insurers urged a judge to reject a competing reorganization plan for the bankrupt utility because the proposal would pay fire victims who lost their homes ahead of insurance companies and...
Typhoon Tapah Disrupts Hundreds of Domestic Flights in Japan and South Korea
Sep 23 2019 // Hundreds of domestic flights in Japan were canceled because of Typhoon Tapah, and the storm caused similar disruptions in South Korea as it moved to make landfall later Sunday. Airlines operating in Japan called off more...
How Forested Communities Are Trying to Adapt to Growing Wildfire Threat
Sep 23 2019 // Unless it’s Sunday, Kelly Loew is steering her rusty red Jeep down the same mail route in Shingletown, as she has six days a week for the last seven years. But she delivers less mail these days as California’s...
Re/insurers Rethink Climate Change Risks as Losses Grow from Wildfires, Floods, Hail
Sep 20 2019 // By the time David Kaisel got back from selling his flour at a farmers’ market, a wildfire in California’s Capay Valley had burnt both his tractor and the shipping container where he kept some tools. His insurer...
Hurricane Humberto Grazes Bermuda, Causing Little Damage
Sep 20 2019 // Cleanup crews in Bermuda were busy at work on Thursday after Hurricane Humberto grazed the island, which escaped major harm despite winds that reached around 100 miles per hour (161 kph) snapping power poles and lifting...
Federal Settlements in South Dakota Wildfire Total More Than $700K
Sep 19 2019 // Landowners in South Dakota have received over $700,000 in a lawsuit accusing a federal agency of burning their properties in an April 2013 prescribed fire that blazed out of control, destroying more than 10,000 acres. The...
Hurricane Humberto Knocks Out Power Lines, Plunging Bermuda into Darkness
Sep 19 2019 // Hurricane Humberto knocked out power lines in Bermuda on Wednesday night, plunging nearly the whole Atlantic archipelago into darkness, as the storm whipped the British territory with powerful winds and heavy rain. Even as...
Humberto Becomes Major Hurricane but Bermuda Could Be Spared Direct Hit
Sep 18 2019 // Bermuda residents boarded up windows of homes and businesses on Wednesday as Hurricane Humberto became a major storm on route the Atlantic archipelago, although forecasts showed they could be spared a direct hit. Hurricane...
Weakened Imelda Aims Foot or More of Rain at Flood-Prone Houston
Sep 18 2019 // Tropical Storm Imelda has lost some of its wind power, but continues to pour rain down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with 12 to 15 inches already recorded and flood-prone Houston in its path. Imelda is now a tropical depression,...
Update: Tropical Storm Imelda Makes Landfall on Texas Coast
Sep 17 2019 // A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico that quickly upgraded into Tropical Storm Imelda has made landfall on the Texas coast near Freeport. The National Hurricane Center said the storm likely will produce...
Catastrophe Modelers: U.S. Insured Losses from Dorian Could Reach $1.5B in U.S.
Sep 17 2019 // Catastrophe modeling firms Karen Clark & Co. and RMS have released insured loss estimates for Hurricane Dorian, ranging from $500 million to $1.5 billion. According to KCC, Dorian reached peak intensity of 185 mph...
Santa Ana Winds Return to California Bringing Wildfire Danger
Sep 16 2019 // The Santa Ana winds have returned to California, a signal to the state’s residents that the wildfire season has begun in earnest. The winds are created by high pressure over Nevada’s Great Basin as cool weather...
Insured Losses for Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$3B-US$7B: AIR Worldwide
Sep 16 2019 // Industry insured losses from Typhoon Faxai, which made landfall in Japan on Sept. 9, will be between 340 billion Japanese yen (US$3 billion) and 740 billion yen (USD 7 billion), estimated Boston-based catastrophe risk...
Humberto Strengthens into 3rd Atlantic Hurricane of 2019, Heading to Bermuda
Sep 16 2019 // Tropical storm Humberto has now intensified into the third Atlantic hurricane of 2019 with top sustained winds of 75 mph, according to weather.com meteorologists in a report issued on Sept. 15. The majority of the showers,...
North Carolina Gov Requests Hurricane Dorian Disaster Declaration
Sep 16 2019 // North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seeking a federal disaster declaration for 13 counties affected by Hurricane Dorian. Cooper made the request to President Donald Trump’s administration Friday. If approved, money...
When Billion Dollar Cyber Losses Strike: Guy Carpenter/CyberCube
Sep 16 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...
Tornadoes, Damaging Winds Reported in Michigan, Minnesota
Sep 13 2019 // The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through a cemetery in southeastern Minnesota. The EF-1 tornado with winds of 95 mph struck Woodlawn Cemetery in Winona early Wednesday. The tornado toppled trees and...
