Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Helping Americans Bridge the Insurance Gap
Nov 5 2018 // Consumers seldom think about auto and homeowners insurance until the unthinkable happens and they need to file a claim. However, with increasing frequency, Mother Nature is bringing widespread devastation to the U.S. So...
Power Customers in California File Claims in Pre-Emptive Wildfire Outage
Nov 2 2018 // A Northern California utility received 146 demands for reimbursement from customers who say Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s controversial decision to cut power to prevent wildfires hurt them economically. The...
AIG Executives Outline Path to Underwriting Profit in 2019
Nov 2 2018 // “We do see it coming. We expect that in 2019 we’re going to be in an underwriting profit position, not a great one, but a profit. And we’ll move from there to a great one.” So said Brian...
Hurricane Florence Damage in North Carolina Reaches $17B
Nov 2 2018 // Hurricane Florence in North Carolina is now estimated to have caused $17 billion in damage, according to a statement from Governor Roy Cooper’s office. An Oct. 31 updated damage estimate from the North Carolina...
Georgia Farmers Face Long Recovery From Hurricane Michael Crop Losses
Nov 2 2018 // Hurricane Michael left a snowy landscape of ruined white cotton on Georgia’s red clay, destroying a crop and likely bringing hard times to the region’s many small communities built on agriculture. When the...
Liberty Mutual Reports $282M Profit for 3Q
Nov 1 2018 // Liberty Mutual and its subsidiaries reported net income of $282 million and $1.911 billion for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2018 versus net loss attributable of $665 million and $188 million for the same...
Florida Insured Losses from Hurricane Michael Top $2B, And Growing
Nov 1 2018 // Total estimated insured losses from Hurricane Michael have reached more than $2.1 billion, according to the most recent data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The current number of claims from Hurricane...
AIG Again Battered by Catastrophes But Reinsurance Lowers 3Q Net Loss
Oct 31 2018 // Catastrophe losses in Japan and North America pushed American International Group to a net loss of $1.3 billion for the third quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of $1.7 billion in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted...
Court Limits Insurer’s Payout in Massive Wisconsin Wildfire
Oct 31 2018 // The state Supreme Court is limiting an insurance company’s payout in a massive northwestern Wisconsin wildfire. Logging equipment owned by Ray Duerr Logging LLC sparked the Germann Road Fire in Douglas County in May...
Weather, Wildfire Claims an Increasing Share of Home Insurance Losses
Oct 31 2018 // U.S homeowners insurers saw an increase in both the number of losses and the percentage of those losses that resulted from an extreme weather event during 2017. According to a LexisNexis Home Trends report, loss costs...
Willis Research Network Renews Partnership with Global Earthquake Model Foundation
Oct 31 2018 // The Willis Research Network (WRN) announced it has renewed its partnership with the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation. The agreement represents a continued commitment to working collaboratively in order to develop...
Update: Typhoon Yutu Pummels Philippines; Death Toll Rises from Landslides, Floods
Oct 31 2018 // At least 10 people were killed and about 20 are missing in a trail of landslides in the mountainous region of northern Philippines after the devastation caused by Typhoon Yutu, according to government authorities. Rescuers...
What’s Happening and What Lies Ahead for P/C Insurance Pricing: Moody’s
Oct 30 2018 // The current pricing environment for property/casualty insurers is “modestly positive,” with commercial and personal auto rates rising by mid-to-high single digits, homeowners and commercial property rates...
RMS Lists Top 10 ‘1-in-100-Year’ Events for Asia Pacific Region
Oct 30 2018 // The Asia Pacific region remains highly vulnerable to major catastrophes, RMS said, announcing a list of 10 “1-in-100-year” events possible in the vast area that includes the Pacific Ring of Fire and the largest...
Typhoon Yutu Slams into Philippines, Traveling Path of Super Storm Mangkhut
Oct 30 2018 // Typhoon Yutu slammed into northern Philippines on Tuesday and is traveling a path similar to last month’s super storm Mangkhut that killed at least 82 people and damaged about $500 million of farm output in the...
Hurricane Michael Death Toll Now at 35 in Florida, 45 Total
Oct 30 2018 // Florida authorities have linked six more deaths to Hurricane Michael, raising the state’s death toll to 35. The storm’s overall death toll now stands at 45, with 10 deaths in other states. Florida Emergency...
PERILS Offers Windstorm Forecasting Platform in Australia, Updates Europe Service
Oct 29 2018 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has launched a windstorm forecasting platform in Australia and updated its existing service in Europe. The website,...
Philippine Authorities Move People to Safer Grounds as Typhoon Approaches
Oct 29 2018 // Philippine authorities started to move people to safer grounds as Typhoon Yutu approaches, tracking a path similar to last month’s storm that devastated rice-producing provinces in the main island of Luzon. Yutu,...
Damage to Florida Crops from Hurricane Michael to Total $158M
Oct 29 2018 // A new study says Florida crops suffered $158 million in damages from Hurricane Michael. The report released Friday by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says that almost all of the...
Super Typhoon Yutu Threatens Philippines’ Most Populous Island
Oct 28 2018 // Super Typhoon Yutu could rip into eastern Luzon in the Philippines on Tuesday, extending the toll of destruction it left in the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands earlier this week. Yutu was about 731 miles (1,176 kilometers)...
