Catastrophe - Latest Insurance News

Cost of Fighting Montana Wildfires Approach $400M

Oct 2 2017 // The cost of fighting wildfires in Montana is approaching $400 million at the tail end of the state’s worst wildfire season in two decades. To date, wildfires have burned almost 1,900 square miles, slightly more than...

Hurricane Claim Insurance Checks Drive New Car Sales

Oct 2 2017 // As Hurricane Harvey poured on Houston, Frank Rodriguez feared for his 2014 GMC Sierra. Once he saw the pickup’s soaking-wet interior and center console full of water, he knew it was a lost cause. He just hoped his...

12th Nursing Home Resident Dies After Hurricane Irma-Related AC Outage

Oct 2 2017 // A 12th patient has died after being taken from an overheated Florida nursing home that lost its air conditioning during Hurricane Irma, officials confirmed on Friday. Dolores Biamonte, 57, died Thursday night, according to...

Florida Hurricane Irma Losses Keep Rising

Oct 2 2017 // With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma’s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by...

A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies

Oct 2 2017 // Hurricane Irma represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are...

States Should Implement Stronger Safeguards for Consumers in Natural Disasters: Rutgers Report

Oct 2 2017 // As homeowners file insurance claims in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, many could find their level of protection depends on the state where their damaged home is located, according to a research report released by...

With Hurricane Losses Insurers Downgrade Anticipated Profit Goals

Oct 2 2017 // Allstate expects insurance losses of about $593 million for August mainly due to Hurricane Harvey, which left a path of destruction along the Gulf Coast. The initial accounting follows warnings from other insurers that are...

Puerto Rico Power Outage to Mean More Business Interruption Claims

Oct 1 2017 // Puerto Rico’s island-wide power outage will mean a surge in insurance claims for lost business income that will increase the already high cost of damage caused by Hurricane Maria, likely tipping some big reinsurers...

North Carolina’s Outer Banks Reopened as Maria Heads Out to Sea

Sep 29 2017 // Maria was finally racing east over the Atlantic on Thursday, giving the United States a rest from the constant threat of tropical weather for more than a month. No injuries have been reported on the U.S. mainland from...

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