Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Timber Farms in Florida, Georgia Suffering After Hurricane Michael
Jan 2 2019 // Strewn in gnarled piles from Florida’s Gulf Coast up through South Georgia, the livelihood of timber farmers is on the ground. And, after the ravaging buzz saw of Hurricane Michael in early October, it will be a...
Tropical Storm Usman Becomes Philippines’ 2nd Deadliest Weather Disaster in 2018
Dec 31 2018 // Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, emerged as the deadliest weather disaster for the country this year following Typhoon Mangkhut in September. Usman, a slow-moving storm with winds of up...
North Dakota Still Working to Improve Warnings After Deadly Tornado
Dec 31 2018 // The impact of a deadly summer tornado that struck western North Dakota is still being felt as work continues to improve the area’s weather warning system. The EF2 tornado slammed into the Prairie View RV Park in...
Lawyers Scramble to Get Piece of the Action in California Wildfire Lawsuits
Dec 31 2018 // In a conference room 13 miles from Paradise, California, Doug Boxer explains to survivors of the state’s worst wildfire why they should choose his law firm to sue PG&E Corp. He walks a fine line between listening...
Insurance Journal West’s Top Stories for 2018: California Commissioner Race, Hawaii Lava, Wildfire Losses
Dec 31 2018 // Another year down, and too many fascinating news headlines to count. Hawaii’s lava, the race for California insurance commissioner, and a $23 million ruling in a lawsuit against Geico were among the most popular...
Insurance Journal South Central’s Top Stories for 2018: Medical Marijuana, Weather Woes
Dec 31 2018 // At first glance it might seem that 2018 was a “slow news” year in the South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. After all, the region escaped the devastation of a major hurricane, and...
Florida Regulator Calls on Insurers to Handle Hurricane Michael Claims
Dec 31 2018 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier is urging Florida insurers to close the more than 42,000 Hurricane Michael claims that remain open nearly three months after the storm. In a Dec. 19 memorandum to all property...
Insurance Journal Southeast’s Top Stories for 2018: Fraud, Hurricanes, Data Security Law
Dec 31 2018 // It was a busy year in the Southeast with two major hurricanes that wreaked havoc on the region, an escalating insurance crisis in Florida, and a new industry-specific cybersecurity law in South Carolina that takes effect...
Florida County Wants Hurricane Michael Named Category 5 Storm
Dec 28 2018 // Some officials in one Florida Panhandle county are pushing for Hurricane Michael to be labelled a Category 5 storm. The News-Herald reports that some in Bay County – which was hit hard by the fierce October storm...
New South Wales Hailstorm Triggers Australia Catastrophe Declaration
Dec 28 2018 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) last week declared a catastrophe following storms that caused extensive hail and water damage across Sydney and the Central Coast in New South Wales (NSW). As of Dec. 21, insurers...
Most Insurers to Increase Payments to California Wildfire Victims Without Itemization
Dec 28 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said this week that most insurers were following a notice he issued requesting that residential property insurers provide at least 75 percent and up to 100 percent of contents...
5 Lessons to Take Away from the California Wildfires
Dec 28 2018 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv The California wildfires of 2018 were devastating, burning hundreds of thousands of acres, costing numerous lives and destroying thousands of properties. The California Department of...
70 Mobile Homes Damaged by Mid-December Tornadoes in Central Florida
Dec 27 2018 // A tornado damaged more than 70 homes in a mobile home park and a 90-year-old woman was taken to a hospital after a roof fell on her head after a day of wild weather in central Florida Dec. 20. Officials in Pasco County,...
Indonesia Volcano Alert Widened as Ash Clouds Affect Aviation After Deadly Tsunami
Dec 27 2018 // Indonesian authorities widened an area marked as a danger zone around the Mount Anak Krakatau as the volcano continued to send hot ash clouds into the sky after a weekend tsunami triggered by a landslide killed more than...
A.M. Best: Negative Rating Implications from Wildfires for California Capital And Subsidiaries
Dec 21 2018 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of California Capital Insurance Co. and its...
Power Restored to Last of 10K Paradise Residents Hit by California Wildfire
Dec 21 2018 // A Northern California utility says it has restored power interrupted by a wildfire six weeks ago to all customers able to receive it. Pacific Gas & Electric said this week the last of about 10,000 residents of Paradise...
Florida Man Gets 8 Years for Hurricane Irma Fraud
Dec 21 2018 // A Florida man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for taking advantage of people who suffered property damage last year during Hurricane Irma. Collier County prosecutors says 44-year-old Daniel Lawrence Ohleyer was...
Georgia Farmers Eligible for Loans to Cover Hurricane Losses
Dec 21 2018 // Some Georgia farmers are eligible for federal loans to help cover the costs of losses sustained because of Hurricane Michael. The Augusta Chronicle reported Tuesday that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated...
Rare Tornado Touches Down in Washington, Damages Homes
Dec 20 2018 // A rare tornado touched down in a Seattle suburb on Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed. The tornado damaged several homes and toppled trees, authorities said. Based on radar imagery and video evidence, a...
Assessing Wildfires’ Impact on P/C Insurers’ 2018 Results
Dec 20 2018 // Fitch Ratings said it expects the November wildfires in California to have some but not great impact on property/casualty insurers’ year-end results and it anticipates limited or no rating actions due to the fires....
