Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Reinsurance Outlook Remains Negative for 2018, Says A.M. Best
Jan 10 2018 // Ratings firm A.M. Best said it is maintaining its 2018 outlook for the U.S. property/casualty reinsurance sector at negative, citing the “pronounced pressure on U.S. property catastrophe rates as the alternative...
Parametric Insurance Can Help Close Global Protection Gap: Clyde & Co. Report
Jan 9 2018 // Parametric insurance can play a significant role in closing the insurance protection gap – a problem that plagues economies in both the developing and developed world, according to a report published by Clyde &...
Coastal Sea Rise Threatening Florida’s Historic Resources
Jan 9 2018 // The Castillo de San Marcos withstood two sieges in 330 years and changed hands five times, but its latest invader – the rising Atlantic Ocean – threatens to erode the historic St. Augustine fortress. The coquina shell...
Experts See Expanding Role for Parametric Insurance, Including for U.S. Disasters
Jan 8 2018 // Catastrophic losses this year due to extreme weather events have led to a growing interest in parametric insurance in the U.S., according to industry experts. Parametric coverage is also gaining traction as hazard modeling...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending
Jan 8 2018 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending. The report by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research estimates that tourists spent...
Catastrophe Bond Issuance Tops New Record of $10.5B in 2017: Verisk Report
Jan 5 2018 // Catastrophe bond issuance surpassed $10.5 billion in 2017 – a new record, according to the latest report from the Property Claims Services Unit of Verisk Insurance Solutions. Results from 2017 are significantly higher...
California Commissioner Issues Report on Fire Insurance Availability Issues
Jan 4 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today released a report on the growing problem of homeowners fire insurance availability and affordability in many areas throughout the state. The report recommends changes in...
Natural Catastrophe Claims in 2017 Reached a Record $135B: Munich Re
Jan 4 2018 // The insurance industry will pay record claims of US$135 billion from last year’s spate of natural catastrophes, according to a report published by Munich Re. Further, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM), the...
Disasters Affected 8% of U.S. Population in 2017, FEMA Notes in Review of Historic Year
Jan 3 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations in 2017, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million Americans, almost...
Top Insurance Journal South Central Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // Among the most read news stories in Insurance Journal’s South Central region during 2017 concerned Hurricane Harvey and Texas hailstorm (aka natural catastrophe insurance claims) legislation. The insurance industry...
Top Insurance Journal West Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // Trade secrets and Hippos, lawsuits and tragedies. The news for 2017 didn’t seem to be dominated by a single trend or sole event, but in an ever-fractured media world that must try and cater to short attention spans...
2017 ‘One of Worst’ for U.S. Weather with 15 Events Costing $1 Billion or More
Dec 29 2017 // In the year that President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris accord and downplayed global warming as a security threat, the U.S. received a harsh reminder of the perils of the rise in the planet’s temperature: a...
Deploying Technology, Security Measures to Fight Weaponization of Autos
Dec 28 2017 // A deadly attack this month in Melbourne, Australia, in which a man plowed an SUV into a crowd of Christmas shoppers, comes from the same playbook used by terrorists in recent years around the globe. Many new vehicles...
Number of Strong Earthquakes in Oklahoma Continues to Decline
Dec 28 2017 // Regulators and scientists say the number of 3.0 magnitude or stronger earthquakes in Oklahoma is declining. The Oklahoma Geological Survey reports the number of quakes of at least that magnitude during 2017 was 294 through...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending
Dec 27 2017 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported preliminary date released by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and...
Typhoon Tembin Leaves Trail of Death, Destruction in Philippines
Dec 27 2017 // A powerful storm that left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday [Dec. 26] and failed to make landfall in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of people in...
Weather Service Reports Possible Tornado in Southern Mississippi
Dec 22 2017 // The National Weather Service says a possible tornado has touched down in southern Mississippi. Forecaster Robert Ricks says people saw a funnel cloud north of the Salem community in Walthall County. Ricks says radar...
California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Forego Detailed Home Inventories in Wake of Wildfires
Dec 21 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is asking insurers to help California wildfire survivors by providing relief from detailed home inventories and to provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage limits without...
Willis Towers Watson Places Cat Bond for France’s Covea Mutual
Dec 21 2017 // Willis Towers Watson Securities said it has structured and placed EUR 90 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) for Covea Mutual Insurance Group, France’s largest domestic property/casualty insurance group. The...
St. Louis Cardinals’ Anti-Terrorism Safety Act Plan Approved
Dec 20 2017 // The St. Louis Cardinals have received federal certification giving the organization legal protections in the event of a terrorist attack at Busch Stadium. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill announced that the U.S. Department...
