Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
$2.1M in Funding For Montana Town’s Tornado Recovery Efforts
Nov 3 2017 // Montana officials say they have secured $2.1 million in federal disaster aid for ongoing cleanup efforts in the town of Baker where a tornado tore up homes, leaving a lake covered in hundreds of tons of debris. The...
AIG Reports Q3 Loss on Commercial Lines Reserve Boost, Catastrophe Losses
Nov 3 2017 // Highlighting the development as a “noteworthy item” in an earnings announcement Thursday night, American International Group reported prior-year loss reserve strengthening of $836 million before taxes, which...
Texas Hurricane Czar: State Needs $61B from Feds for Harvey Recovery
Nov 2 2017 // Texas needs $61-plus billion in federal funding just to rebuild public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey, as well as to cover projects to prevent future flooding. John Sharp, Texas’ Harvey recovery...
Lancashire Reports Q3 Loss of $136.4M on High Natural Catastrophe Claims
Nov 2 2017 // Lancashire Holdings Ltd reported a third-quarter pretax loss after what looks set to be the costliest quarter ever for insurers and reinsurers due to natural catastrophes, but said it was seeing some evidence of an...
California Wildfires Destroyed Part of Hewlett-Packard Archives
Nov 1 2017 // California’s deadliest wildfires have also destroyed an irreplaceable collection of Silicon Valley history. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that more than 100 boxes of letters and other materials from tech...
Insured Losses from California Wildfires Now at $3.3 Billion
Oct 31 2017 // The largest California insurers have so far reported more than $3.3 billion in insured losses from the October wildfire siege, now considered the most destructive fires in state history. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones...
Cat Facility CCRIF to Pay Trinidad & Tobago $7M for Severe October Rains
Oct 31 2017 // Cayman Islands-based CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) announced that Trinidad & Tobago will receive a payout of US$7,007,886 (approximately TT$47.4 million) on an excess rainfall...
California Wildfires: May Take Years for Full Recovery
Oct 30 2017 // It will take at least months and likely years to fully recover from devastating wildfires that ripped through Northern California earlier this month, destroying at least 8,900 structures and killing 42 people, Sonoma...
Not All Expect Hurricanes to Bring 2018 P/C Insurance Hard Market
Oct 30 2017 // The worst hurricane season in modern U.S. history is starting to look like a blip on the charts of insurance stocks, with investors banking on a quick restoration of capital as firms rediscover pricing power. It’s a...
Florida Hurricane Fund Irma Payouts Could Exceed $5B
Oct 30 2017 // Hurricane Irma’s damaging rampage through Florida may require the state fund that provides backing to private insurers to pay up to $5.1 billion in claims. Anne Bert, chief operating officer for the Florida Hurricane...
Taxing Affiliate Reinsurance Could Cripple the New Madrid Zone
Oct 29 2017 // Between Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, natural catastrophes are top of mind for many Americans. Yet, the nation’s exposure to catastrophic risk is not limited to wind and waves. Earthquakes, like hurricanes, are costly...
Insured Loss Estimates from California Wildfires Now up to $8 Billion
Oct 27 2017 // Insured losses from the siege of California wildfires could possibly reach $8 billion, according to new estimates released on Friday by catastrophe modeler RMS. The firm now estimates the insured loss for the wildfires...
Chubb Reports Q3 Loss Due to Catastrophes; CEO Greenberg Sees Prices Firming
Oct 27 2017 // Chubb, like other property/casualty insurers and reinsurers, faced significant catastrophe losses from hurricanes and earthquakes that struck in August and September. The insurer reported a net loss of $70 million for the...
Loss Estimate for October 2016 Italian Quakes Rises to US$244.4M: PERILS
Oct 27 2017 // The property insurance market’s losses from the series of earthquakes to hit Central Italy between Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, 2016 has risen to €208 million (US$244.4 million), according to PERILS, the independent...
Florida’s Hurricane Irma Recovery Tab Tops $650M
Oct 27 2017 // The tab for Hurricane Irma keeps rising, and Florida legislators are warning that it could require some tough budget choices for next year. Gov. Rick Scott’s budget director told a Senate panel on Wednesday that the...
U.S. Cities Ranked Most Vulnerable to Coastal Floods Due to Climate Change
Oct 26 2017 // This week is the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which developed in late October and moved over the East Coast starting on Oct. 29, 2012, causing more than $70 billion in damage and killing 280 people. To mark that...
Study Links Colorado, New Mexico Quakes to Oil and Gas Fluid Injections
Oct 26 2017 // A rash of earthquakes in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico between 2008 and 2010 was likely due to fluids pumped deep underground during oil and gas wastewater disposal, according to a study from Colorado...
Munich Re Expects Q3 Loss After Hurricane Claims of $3.2B
Oct 26 2017 // Munich Re expects claims of €2.7 billion ($3.2 billion) from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which will lead to a third quarter loss of €1.4 billion. The group said it expects a small profit for the full year, as...
Best Areas in U.S. to Live to Avoid Natural Disasters
Oct 26 2017 // Tired of living with hurricanes, tornadoes or floods? Head to Portland, Salt Lake City or Providence. Or California. Yes, California. Portland, Oregon is the safest place to live to avoid hazardous weather; three of the...
Severe Weather in Carolinas Brings Tornadoes, Power Outages
Oct 26 2017 // A National Weather Service team confirmed Tuesday that two tornadoes touched down in South Carolina during an outbreak of severe weather that flipped tractor-trailers and small planes, washed out roads and left thousands...
