Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Climate Researchers Warn of Hotter Summers, More Wildfires, in Southern Europe
Sep 29 2017 // Climate researchers are warning that Europeans should prepare for the return of “Lucifer,” saying the hellishly named heat wave that hit parts of the continent this summer could become a regular occurrence due...
Economic Costs of Mexico’s Earthquake Could Surpass $2B
Sep 29 2017 // President Enrique Pena Nieto said Wednesday [Sept. 27] that preliminary accounting of the damage caused by the two big earthquakes that hit Mexico this month could cost upward of $2 billion (38.1 billion pesos). Pena Nieto...
RMS Estimates Hurricane Maria’s Insured Losses Will Range Between $15B and $30B
Sep 29 2017 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, estimated that the insured loss from Hurricane Maria will be between US$15 billion and US$30 billion. This estimate represents the insured losses associated...
1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake Anniversary A Reminder to Californians
Sep 29 2017 // The 30th anniversary of the 1987 magnitude 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake is Sunday, and the head of the California Earthquake Authority is using that to remind Californians to buy earthquake insurance. The quake was...
Beazley Estimates $150M Earnings Hit From Hurricanes, Earthquakes
Sep 29 2017 // Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley said on Friday it reckoned that its losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the Caribbean and southern United States and a series of earthquakes in Mexico would reduce its...
Georgia Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma Exceed $300M, And Growing
Sep 29 2017 // The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance estimates that insured losses in the state from Hurricane Irma have now exceeded $300 million, with more than 50,000 property related insurance claims...
Chubb: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma Losses to Top $1 Billion
Sep 28 2017 // Chubb Ltd. has estimated it will see more than $1 billion in third-quarter losses stemming from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a substantial hit for the insurer and reinsurer. The loss estimate is preliminary. Further details...
Lloyd’s Expects $4.5 Billion Hit from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma
Sep 28 2017 // Lloyd’s of London expects net losses of $4.5 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which analysts said would eat into the insurer’s capital and hit its profitability. Although losses from natural...
Despite Rise in Catastrophe Losses, Home Insurance Loss Costs Declined in Recent Years
Sep 28 2017 // In 2016, Colorado and Texas homeowners suffered the greatest percentage of catastrophic losses due to extreme weather and other perils, according to a study of home insurance trends. The six-year LexisNexis Risk Solutions...
Update: Lloyd’s of London Reports 16% Drop in H1 2017 Profit to $1.6B
Sep 28 2017 // Lloyd’s of London expects net losses of $4.5 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which analysts said would eat into the insurer’s capital and hit its profitability. Although losses from natural...
Global Reinsurers to Bear ‘Significant Share’ of Hurricane Maria Claims: A.M. Best
Sep 28 2017 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said it expects a significant share of the loss from Hurricane Maria to pass on to the global reinsurers evenly. The agency said it expects the loss would remain within the overall risk tolerance...
Citizens Estimates $1.23B In Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma
Sep 28 2017 // Hurricane Irma will generate up to 70,000 claims and approximately $1.23 billion of insured losses to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation over the next 18 to 24 months, according to initial estimates presented to...
Texas Regulators Seek Data on Insurers’ Hurricane Harvey Claims
Sep 27 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a mandatory data call to both admitted and surplus lines insurance carriers seeking information about Hurricane Harvey-related claims in 62 counties impacted by the storm. The...
Japan Court Rules Tepco, not Government, Must Pay $3.4M to Ex-Fukushima Residents
Sep 27 2017 // A Japanese court ruled Friday [Sept. 22] that a utility, not the government, should pay compensation to dozens of former residents of Fukushima for losses to their livelihood caused by reactor meltdowns at a nuclear plant...
Mexico Calculates Economic Cost of Quake; Insurance Covers Small Part of Losses
Sep 27 2017 // Mexican government officials are still tallying up the economic losses of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused widespread damage in the capital, but for the manager of a downtown restaurant it is already all too...
Mounting Catastrophe Claims Could Weaken Re/Insurers’ Capital Reserves: Fitch
Sep 27 2017 // Ratings downgrades for global insurers and reinsurers are becoming more probable as they face more than $100 billion in 2017 catastrophe losses, a figure that threatens to weaken their capital reserves, Fitch Ratings Inc....
Evacuations Ordered on North Carolina Outer Banks for Hurricane Maria
Sep 26 2017 // An evacuation was underway Tuesday on an island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Maria moved north. The Hyde County Sheriff’s office said the evacuation began at 5 a.m. Monday on Ocracoke Island. It...
UK SMEs Face BI Coverage Gaps After Terrorist Events: Pool Re Report
Sep 26 2017 // Many terrorism insurance policies are triggered when there is physical damage to a property. As a result, commercial insurance buyers may find that they are unprotected against business interruption losses if there is...
Damage From Rare Utah Tornado Still Being Felt a Year Later
Sep 26 2017 // Damage from a rare tornado that ripped through a Utah county a year ago still lingers in the homes and minds of people who live in its path. The twister gutted 12 homes and damaged dozens more in Weber County, causing a...
Insured Losses in Caribbean from Hurricane Maria Estimated at $40B-$85B: AIR
Sep 26 2017 // Industry insured losses for Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean will be between US$40 billion and US$85 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide. Puerto Rico alone accounts for more than 85 percent of the...
