Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Beazley Expands Event Cancellation Coverage for Political Violence, Terrorism Incidents

Jul 28 2016 // Beazley, a provider of event cancellation insurance, has expanded its terrorism and political violence event cancellation insurance for the sports, entertainment and leisure industries in the U.S. to include riots, civil...

FBI Warns of More Terrorist Attacks in U.S. as ISIS Is Defeated in Syria

Jul 28 2016 // Hundreds of terrorists will fan out to infiltrate western Europe and the U.S. to carry out attacks on a wider scale as Islamic State is defeated in Syria, FBI Director James Comey warned. “At some point there’s...

California Wildfire Shuts Down Picturesque Big Sur

Jul 27 2016 // State parks along the California’s famed Big Sur coastline were closed Tuesday as one of the state’s two major wildfires threatened the scenic region at the height of the summer tourism season. The Big Sur fire...

Texas Windstorm Insurer: Submit Depopulation Documentation by August 25

Jul 26 2016 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association member companies that want to participate in the Assumption Reinsurance Depopulation Program may now submit required documentation to both TWIA and the Texas Department of Insurance...

Containment on Massive California Wildfire Increases

Jul 26 2016 // Containment has increased on a wildfire north of Los Angeles, which has grown to more than 58 square miles. Officials report the blaze is 25 percent surrounded as of today, and most of the evacuation orders affecting...

Everest Re Group Reports Q2 Net Income of $155.7M vs. $209.1M in Q2 2015

Jul 26 2016 // Bermuda-based Everest Re Group Ltd. reported second quarter 2016 net income of $155.7 million, or $3.67 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $209.1 million, or $4.68 per diluted common share, for the same...

Tropical Storm Darby Makes Landfall on Big Island of Hawaii: AIR

Jul 25 2016 // Tropical Storm Darby, which formed off the coast of Mexico on July 11, quickly reached hurricane status as it moved westward toward Hawaii finally reaching landfall on Monday, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR...

Woman’s Joplin Tornado-Related Suit Against Home Depot Tossed

Jul 25 2016 // A federal judge has tossed out a woman’s lawsuit against Home Depot over the deaths of her husband and two children who had sought refuge inside the big-box store destroyed during the devastating 2011 tornado in...

California Wildfires Gut Homes, Force Evacuations

Jul 25 2016 // Thousands were forced to flee a wildfire burning in tinder-dry canyons in Southern California, authorities said. The fire has destroyed at least 18 homes in northern Los Angeles County. The blaze momentum two days after it...

Weather Service Determines Tornado Touched Down in Washington

Jul 25 2016 // The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down near Coulee City as severe weather hit the Inland Northwest. The weather service confirmed the tornado touched down at about 3:30 p.m. Friday in the area, about 95...

Lloyd’s Has Potentially Large Exposure to Catastrophic Cyber Attack: Adsensa Review

Jul 25 2016 // A review of almost 400 reinsurance contracts underwritten at Lloyd’s of London has revealed potentially significant vulnerabilities and exposures if a catastrophic cyber attack should occur. Analysis of 392 property...

Changing Political Risk Landscape: Religious Extremists, Cyberterrorism Cause Concerns

Jul 25 2016 // In a short period of time, the political risk market has experienced a significant shift in exposures, with new potential threats and different territories now threatened by attacks from religious extremists. Christof...

Coastal Insurer UPC’s First Catastrophe Bond Provides It with $100M Cover

Jul 25 2016 // Swiss Re Capital Markets said it has structured and placed $100 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) that cover named storms and earthquakes affecting certain coastal states of the U.S. The bonds have been issued...

Florida-Based Homeowners Choice Secures Nearly $1B in Reinsurance for 2016-2017

Jul 22 2016 // Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., a Florida-based provider of homeowners insurance, has completed its reinsurance program for the 2016-17 reinsurance year, which runs from June 1, 2016...

Utah Law Enables Authorities to Crash Drones at Wildfires

Jul 22 2016 // Utah’s governor has signed into law a measure that makes the state the first to let authorities jam drone signals and crash the devices specifically for flying too close to wildfires. Republican Gov. Gary...

Can States Stop Man-Made Earthquakes?

Jul 21 2016 // Stopping an earthquake before it starts? It sounds like a feat possible only for a superhero. But in Kansas and Oklahoma state policymakers are showing that insofar as humans are causing earthquakes, they can stop them,...

Travelers Hit Hard with Catastrophe Losses in Q2

Jul 21 2016 // The Travelers Companies reported an 18 percent drop in net profit for the second quarter largely due to a 50 percent rise in losses from catastrophes. Catastrophe losses of $333 million, up from $221 million for the same...

Global Insured Losses Hit $30B in 1H 2016, 30% of Economic Losses: Aon Benfield

Jul 21 2016 // Preliminary global economic losses reached US$98 billion during the first half of 2016, while global insured losses hit US$30 billion – their highest levels since 2011, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon...

American Integrity in Florida Hires Hendrickson as SVP of Risk Management

Jul 20 2016 // American Integrity Insurance has hired Gloria Hendrickson as senior vice president of Risk Management. In her role as senior vice president of Risk Management, Hendrickson will assume responsibility for risk management...

Southern Colorado Wildfire Now 30 Percent Contained

Jul 19 2016 // Firefighters are letting areas of a wildfire burn near Coaldale in southern Colorado because it is too dangerous to get into some wilderness areas, but they have managed to protect homes and contain 30 percent of the blaze...