Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Insurance Agents Recount Hurricane Irma’s Personal Impact
Oct 26 2017 // It’s been just over a month since Hurricane Irma hit Florida, and it won’t be forgotten in Florida by anyone anytime soon, especially not by those in the insurance industry. The powerful storm made landfall...
Officials Confirm Oklahoma Casino Hit with EF1 Tornado
Oct 25 2017 // Emergency managers say an Oklahoma casino had part of its roof torn off by an EF1 tornado during a concert that the state’s governor was attending. The twister touched down in Cleveland County, one of several...
Senate Joins House in Passing $36.5B Disaster Aid with Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 25 2017 // The Senate sent President Donald Trump a $36.5 billion hurricane relief bill Tuesday that gives Puerto Rico access to $4.9 billion in low-interest Treasury loans, amid concerns that recovery efforts from the recent...
XL Group Q3 Reports Losses in Excess of $1B on Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria
Oct 25 2017 // XL Group reported losses exceeding $1 billion for the 2017 third quarter, blaming Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria for the results. The net loss of $1.04 billion for Q3 amounted to negative-$4.06 per fully diluted share,...
Oklahoma’s Tornado King Ordered to Return More than $100K in Embezzlement Scheme
Oct 24 2017 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says William Stephens, the owner of Tornado King, a storm shelter manufacturing and installation company, pleaded no contest to six counts of embezzlement and one count of a pattern of...
Oklahoma Energy Companies Settle Suit over Earthquake Damage
Oct 24 2017 // A settlement has been reached between two Oklahoma oil and natural gas companies and a woman injured in a 2011 earthquake. Prague resident Sandra Ladra filed the lawsuit in 2014 against New Dominion LLC, Spess Oil Co. and...
California’s Wine Industry Taking Stock of Losses After Wildfires
Oct 23 2017 // Although still burning, the largest fires that have devastated California wine country are mostly contained, and winemakers, winery owners, and growers began taking stock this week of what they have—and...
AIR Worldwide Introduces Inland Flood Model for Japan
Oct 23 2017 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has introduced a new inland flood model for Japan along with enhancements to its Japan typhoon model. These models are part of Version 5.1 of AIR’s catastrophe modeling...
CoreLogic: Hurricane Nate Property Damage Could Top $1B
Oct 23 2017 // Hurricane Nate preliminary loss estimates are estimated to be between $650 million and $1.35 billion, according to CoreLogic. The loss estimates were calculated based on data analysis, total insured and uninsured loss for...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Request to Raise Liability Limits Disapproved
Oct 20 2017 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan has declined to approve a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to raise the maximum limits of liability on windstorm and hail policies. TWIA in August filed a...
Investors Remain Committed to ILS Market Despite Q3 Catastrophes: WTW
Oct 20 2017 // ILS investors are responding to the recent spate of natural disasters by making their payments to ceding companies, while continuing to raise more money and preparing to make new investments, according to Willis Towers...
Swiss Re Estimates $3.6B in Claims from U.S. Hurricanes & Mexican Quakes
Oct 20 2017 // Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, estimated its claims burden from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the United States and from two earthquakes in Mexico at roughly $3.6 billion in the third...
Northern California Wildfires: Insurance Industry Ready to Assist With ‘Massive’ Recovery
Oct 20 2017 // Rebuilding the Northern California areas devastated by wildfire will be a long-term effort, and insurers say they will be there to help their affected policyholders get back on their feet. Tens of thousands of evacuees...
Early Data Shows Insured Losses from California Wildfires Already at $1B and Growing
Oct 19 2017 // Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today released preliminary data provided by eight California insurers processing claims for tens of thousands of policyholders that shows $1.045 billion in losses to commercial and...
In ‘Energy City’ USA, Hurricane Harvey’s Fury Lingers
Oct 19 2017 // It took five weeks for the largest U.S. oil refinery to get back to normal after Hurricane Harvey. It’s taking Port Arthur, Texas, a lot longer. Nearly two months after Harvey inundated Port Arthur, a crucial hub of...
Travelers Insurance Reports Solid Q3 Results Despite $700M Cat Losses
Oct 19 2017 // The Travelers Companies today reported $293 million in net income for the third quarter despite absorbing more than $700 million in catastrophe claims. The $293 million in net income was a 59 percent decline from the $716...
Zurich Estimates Claims of US$700M from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma & Maria
Oct 19 2017 // Zurich Insurance Group estimates that Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will aggregate claims in the third quarter of approximately US$700 million, net of reinsurance and before tax. After tax, the losses are expected to...
Does a CPP Cover Trees Knocked Over by a Hurricane?
Oct 18 2017 // Last week we entered into a discussion of downed trees, in particular, trees downed by a hurricane. We spent our time dealing with the HO-3 policy and how it responds. If you didn’t catch that, take a look at last...
Argo and Aspen Issue Loss Estimates for Q3 Natural Catastrophes
Oct 18 2017 // Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. and Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. have issued their third quarter catastrophe loss estimates, primarily related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria as well as the earthquakes in...
Georgia Estimates $550M in Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma
Oct 18 2017 // Georgia’s estimated insured losses from Hurricane Irma have climbed to more than $550 million, with insurers reporting approximately 103,163 claims filed so far, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph...
