Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Casualty Catastrophe Modeler Praedicat Raises $6 Million
Jan 31 2018 // Praedicat said it has completed a $6 million, early-stage financing. The Los Angeles-based casualty catastrophe modeling company plans to use the money to accelerate development of products that prepare insurers and other...
Winter Wildfires Scorch Western Oklahoma
Jan 30 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres in western Oklahoma, damaging fences and equipment but causing no injuries. Capt. Forrest Valentine of the Clinton Fire Department said Sunday firefighters battled...
Mississippi to Offer Free Vehicle Inspections of Hurricane-Damaged Vehicles
Jan 30 2018 // The Mississippi Insurance Department (MID) and the Mississippi Collision Repair Association are partnering on an initiative designed to protect residents from buying cars damaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Following...
National Hurricane Center: Harvey’s Rains Make It Second-Costliest U.S. Hurricane
Jan 29 2018 // Record-breaking Hurricane Harvey became the second-costliest storm to hit the U.S. and dropped more rain than any other system ever. Harvey, the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005, killed at least 103 people...
Capital Markets Still Keen on ILS Investments Despite 2017 Disaster Claims: WTW
Jan 29 2018 // The insurance linked securities (ILS) sector is set for another year of growth as the market recovers from 2017’s natural disasters, replaces lost capital and investors show mounting interest in ILS products. These...
After Catastrophes, ‘Pricing Complacency,’ P/C Insurers Face Real Test in 2018: S&P
Jan 29 2018 // While the U.S. property/casualty insurance sector passed the capital test in 2017, a year with record catastrophe losses, insurers will face the real test in 2018 if catastrophe losses come close to last year’s...
IBHS in Florida Announces Leadership Changes, Focus for 2018
Jan 26 2018 // The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), headquartered in Tampa, Fla., has promoted Anne D. Cope, Ph.D., P.E., to senior vice president of Research and chief engineer. Cope has assumed leadership of...
Alaskan Quake Highlights Complexity of Tsunami Warnings
Jan 26 2018 // The powerful earthquake that struck beneath the Gulf of Alaska early Tuesday generated a tsunami, but before gauges could show that it was very small, warnings went out to a vast swath of the state and British Columbia,...
2017’s Natural Hazards and the Destruction They Brought: CoreLogic
Jan 25 2018 // CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis shows that 2017 was a year of relatively average activity for most U.S. natural hazards with the exception of wildfires in California and flooding from...
Weather Service Confirms EF-1 Tornado in Mississippi
Jan 25 2018 // The National Weather Service confirms a tornado touched down in southern Mississippi. A mobile home was damaged in the Monday morning storm while some sheds and barns were damaged. National Weather Service meteorologist...
Insured Natural Disaster Losses in 2017 Were 38% of Economic Costs of $353B: Aon
Jan 24 2018 // Insured losses for last year’s 330 natural catastrophes reached US$134 billion, or 38 percent of their economic price tag of $353 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s...
M7.9 Quake Jolted Alaska, No Tsunami
Jan 24 2018 // A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska’s Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state’s coast and sending some residents fleeing to higher ground. Officials at...
QBE Expects US$1.2B Loss in 2017 from ‘Unprecedented’ Natural Catastrophes
Jan 24 2018 // QBE announced to the market this week that it expects a US$1.2 billion after-tax loss in 2017 on “unprecedented” natural catastrophe claims. “This has been a challenging year for QBE, reflecting an...
Tree Company Sued, Blamed for 2011 Texas Wildfire that Killed 2
Jan 23 2018 // Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history. The lawsuit filed on Jan. 19 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...
Travelers Manages Q4 Profit Despite Wildfires, Tax Hit
Jan 23 2018 // Property/casualty insurance giant Travelers Companies Inc. reported net income of $551 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, a 42 percent drop compared to $943 million in the prior year quarter. The drop was...
Louisiana Citizens Opens Search for Catastrophe Service Vendors
Jan 22 2018 // New Catastrophe Services contracts are expected to secure over 600 Adjusters as part of the company’s ongoing Catastrophe preparedness and response to large claim volume events. Baton Rouge, LA, January 22, 2018–...
XL Group: Loss Estimates of $45M Related to Southern California Wildfires
Jan 22 2018 // XL Group Ltd. in mid-January announced preliminary estimates of natural catastrophe net losses of roughly $45 million related to the recent wildfires in Southern California and $20 million related to other events. The...
California Commissioner Issues Report on Fire Insurance Availability Issues
Jan 22 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in mid-January released a report on the growing problem of homeowners fire insurance availability and affordability in many areas throughout the state. The report recommends...
2017 Disasters
Jan 22 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was busy in 2017 as it supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million...
U.S. Reinsurance Outlook Remains Negative for 2018, Says A.M. Best
Jan 22 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...
