Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Earthquake Risk: Spotlight on Canada
Jan 20 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. What is ‘The Big One’? When assessing earthquake risk in Canada, many commonly refer to ‘The Big One’ that will eventually strike British...
Team Formed to Review How Wildfire Spread to Tennessee Tourist City
Jan 19 2017 // Authorities are forming a team to investigate the massive fires that tore through a Tennessee tourist city late last year, killing 14 people. The team will be made up of representatives from the Park Service, the U.S....
26% of Natural Disaster Economic Losses in 2016 Were Insured: Aon Benfield Cat Report
Jan 17 2017 // Overall, just 26 percent ($54 billion) of overall economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide during 2016 were covered by insurance as a higher percentage of damage occurred in areas with a lower insurance...
Northridge Quake Anniversary Prompts Reminders For California Residents
Jan 17 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority put out a notice reminding residents in the state that Tuesday marks the 23rd anniversary of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The magnitude-6.7 shake that widespread damage to freeways,...
Severe Storms Cause Damage Across Texas
Jan 17 2017 // A powerful storm system unleashed strong winds and torrential rains across much of Texas over night on Sunday, knocking out power, damaging homes and flooding streets. Authorities say at least 30 homes were damaged when...
Tornado That Touched Down in California Not So Rare
Jan 13 2017 // The latest storm to wallop Northern California whipped up a small tornado that downed trees and fences near Sacramento. Here’s what you need to know about twisters in California, which occur regularly but in limited...
California Wholesalers Conference Tackled Everything from Marijuana to Trump
Jan 12 2017 // How legalized marijuana and President-elect Donald Trump will affect the insurance industry, a possible merger of the nation’s two major excess and surplus lines organizations, renewing the National Flood Insurance...
Business Interruption Remains Top Corporate Concern in 2017: Allianz
Jan 12 2017 // Business interruption is a top global corporate risk for the fifth year in a row. But worries about Brexit and incoming U.S. President Donald Trump also made the list of companies’ 2017 fears and uncertainties in a...
Report: Oklahoma Saltwater Disposal Volumes Decline in Earthquake Zone
Jan 11 2017 // Recent reports show that disposal well operators placed about 23 percent less saltwater into Oklahoma’s deepest geological formation within the earthquake zone in 2016 compared to the previous year. The year-end data...
Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Fires… Oh My! 2016 A Rough Year for the Southeast
Jan 11 2017 // It is fair to say 2016 was the year of the catastrophe in the Southeast. Tornadoes, drought, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires impacted virtually every state in the region. For the insurance industry, these events made for...
Kansas Universities Mulling Increase in Earthquake Insurance Coverage
Jan 9 2017 // Regents system universities in Kansas are reviewing earthquake insurance policies after several quakes were reported in the state this year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the universities’ chief financial...
West Regulation Report Card: California Most Politicized State
Jan 9 2017 // A report gives California’s insurance regulatory environment low marks for auto body repair rules, the insurance commissioner’s call for insurers to divest from coal, its prior approval law and being the...
Expert: Remote Nevada Earthquakes Big Enough to Cause $1B in Damage
Jan 9 2017 // A trio of significant earthquakes that struck a remote part of western Nevada along the Sierra Mountains’ eastern last month were big enough to cause as much as $1 billion in damage if they had been centered beneath...
Weather Service: At Least 8 Tornadoes Hit Louisiana on Jan. 2
Jan 6 2017 // The National Weather Service says at least eight tornadoes hit Louisiana on Jan. 2. Survey teams conclude twisters damaged parts of Avoyelles, Beauregard, Evangeline, Rapides and Tangipahoa parishes. The most powerful...
NWS Reports At Least 9 Tornadoes Hit 12 Mississippi Counties in 1 Day
Jan 6 2017 // The National Weather Service has counted at least nine tornadoes hitting Mississippi on Monday. Survey teams conclude storm damage was caused by twisters in Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Jasper, Jefferson, Lamar,...
New Hurricane Research Looks Like Good News for Atlantic Coast
Jan 5 2017 // Active Atlantic hurricane periods, like the one now, are not necessarily a harbinger of more, rapidly intensifying hurricanes along the U.S. coast, according to new research performed at the University of...
Global Natural Catastrophes Cost Insurers $50B in 2016: Munich Re
Jan 4 2017 // Insurers paid out around $50 billion for natural disaster claims last year, almost double 2015’s payout of $27 billion, reinsurer Munich Re said in its annual natural catastrophe review on Wednesday. Earthquakes in...
More Earthquakes Strike Near Pawnee, Oklahoma
Jan 3 2017 // Three earthquakes have struck in the area of northern Oklahoma that was rattled last year by the largest earthquake in state history. The U.S. Geological Survey says back-to-back earthquakes hit in the morning on Jan. 2...
Kansas Universities Mulling Increase in Earthquake Insurance Coverage
Jan 3 2017 // Regents universities in Kansas are reviewing earthquake insurance policies after several quakes were reported in the state this year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the universities’ chief financial officers...
Expert: Remote Nevada Earthquakes Big Enough to Cause $1B in Damage
Dec 30 2016 // A trio of significant earthquakes that struck a remote part of western Nevada along the Sierra Mountains’ eastern front Wednesday were big enough to cause as much as $1 billion in damage if they had been centered...
