Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hermine Weakens As It Hits Florida Panhandle; Some Flooding, Power Outages Expected
Sep 2 2016 // Hermine, the first hurricane to strike Florida since 2005, has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves inland, after threatening soy and cotton crops and leaving large swaths of the region at risk of...
Northeast Could See Impact of Tropical Storm Hermine After Months of Drought
Sep 1 2016 // Over the past several months, the Northeastern U.S. has experienced abnormally dry conditions leading to a drought that could last into the fall. Now, it is facing a different problem with the looming risk of heavy rain...
Gulf Coast Prepares for Tropical Storm Hermine as Possibility of Hurricane Looms
Sep 1 2016 // Florida is being warned to prepare for arriving Tropical Storm Hermine, which is expected to dump heavy rain, bring strong winds and the possibility of isolated tornadoes across parts of the state, according to the Florida...
Cat Bonds Match Traditional Reinsurers on Reliability Scale: S&P
Sep 1 2016 // Some traditional reinsurers have asserted that catastrophe bonds are unreliable in terms of paying claims after major events. A new Standard & Poor’s article rebukes that idea. “We have explored the claims...
Commentary: It is a Catastrophe that No One Listens to the Experts on Florida
Sep 1 2016 // “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” Although the author is unknown, this comment is often attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas...
Tropical Weather System Approaches Southeast States
Aug 31 2016 // Crowds thinned Tuesday on the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of a tropical weather system that threatened to bring strong winds and heavy rains that could flood low-lying areas. Elsewhere, a powerful...
How Florida Insurers Can Prepare for Claims from a Major Hurricane
Aug 31 2016 // After eight hurricanes in two years between 2004 and 2005, we haven’t seen a hurricane in Florida for over 10 years. Has the state learned from those storms? Are the insurance companies ready? What about the...
Typhoon Lionrock Makes Landfall in Japan, Bringing Landslides, Floods & Deaths
Aug 31 2016 // With strong winds, drenching rain, high surf, and coastal flooding, Typhoon Lionrock made landfall in the Tohoku region of Japan Tuesday evening local time, near the city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, according to an...
Woman High on Drugs and Driving on Wheel Rim Sparked California Wildfires
Aug 30 2016 // Fire officials in southern California say a car driven by a woman high on drugs has sparked several wildfires that so far have burned 450 acres and prompted evacuations. Authorities say Renee Hogan was arrested Sunday. The...
Typhoon Lionrock Expected to Hit Japan’s Tohoku Region, Site of 2011 Tsunami
Aug 29 2016 // Typhoon Lionrock is projected to make landfall in Japan Tuesday and is likely to strike the northern Tohoku region, the area devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It would be the first tropical cyclone to...
At Least 12 Tornadoes in Indiana, Ohio Damage Homes, Businesses
Aug 26 2016 // A wave of severe storms produced at least a dozen tornadoes in Indiana and Ohio earlier this week, damaging homes and businesses but causing no serious injuries, authorities said as crews worked to restore power and remove...
Most Italians Uninsured for Earthquake as Economic Cost of Tremblor Mounts
Aug 26 2016 // The magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Italy’s Umbria region this week, killing at least 250 people, is estimated to have cost the country anywhere from $1 billion to $11 billion in economy-related losses. The...
Italy Quakes Could Lead to Limited Insured Losses: RMS & AIR Worldwide
Aug 26 2016 // Damage from the earthquake that struck central Italy on Aug. 24 and the subsequent aftershocks that followed is still being assessed. But RMS asserts that insurance losses will be limited because of property values and the...
$352.8M in Damage from July Hailstorm in Colorado
Aug 24 2016 // The July 28 hailstorm that hit Colorado Springs was the sixth-most damaging event in Colorado history. The Gazette reported that according to an insurance industry trade group the storm earned $352.8 million in claims for...
Washington Governor Declares Emergency in 20 Counties in Wake of Wildfires
Aug 24 2016 // Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency for 20 Eastern Washington counties in response to multiple wildfires that threaten homes and natural resources. Inslee issued the declaration Tuesday after touring fires in...
Italy Earthquake Unlikely to Trigger 200M Euro Cat Bond Cover: Investors
Aug 24 2016 // A powerful earthquake in Italy on Wednesday is unlikely to force UnipolSai’s 200 million euro ($226 mln) catastrophe bond into default as the bond has low exposure to the affected region, the Italian insurer...
Low Prices Ultimately Could Bite London Market Insurers: A.M. Best, PwC Reports
Aug 24 2016 // The business outlook for the London insurance market is a familiar one across other global markets: underwriting profits are under pressure as ongoing soft market prices begin to take a toll. In separate reports on the...
Oregon Officials Believe Arson Behind 14 Or More Wildfires
Aug 23 2016 // State authorities and forest officials say at least 14 wildfires that have erupted across central Oregon over the last three weeks are believed to have been intentionally started. Officials did not release details on which...
Caribbean Cat Facility, CCRIF, Pays Belize for Excess Rain From Hurricane Earl
Aug 23 2016 // CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) made a pay-out of US$261,073 to the government of Belize as a result of heavy rains from Hurricane Earl on Aug. 4-5. Rainfall from the hurricane caused...
Soft Prices May Bring Reinsurer Losses when Typical Cat Levels Return: Execs
Aug 23 2016 // It won’t take another Hurricane Katrina for reinsurers to face losses from covering the cost of storms and earthquakes. Competitors such as hedge funds have eroded prices so much that a typical year of claims could...
