Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIR Estimates Insured Losses from Chile Earthquake at $600M to $900M
Sep 22 2015 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses from the Magnitude 8.3 earthquake that struck Chile’s central coast near Illapel on Sept. 16 will be between CLP 400 billion ($600 million) and...
Galveston Razing Hurricane Ike-Damaged Homes
Sep 22 2015 // Galveston is moving on from repairing and rebuilding homes damaged from Hurricane Ike to demolishing homes left dilapidated by the storm that devastated the Texas coastal island seven years ago this month. John Simsen, the...
Californians Pushed by Wildfires into High-risk Insurance Market
Sep 21 2015 // There are lots of reasons people live in California’s Modjeska Canyon. Nestled against the mountains and abutting the Cleveland National Forest, the area has abundant wildlife and access to nature, yet is just a 20...
Tornadoes Damage Homes Along Kansas/Missouri Border
Sep 21 2015 // A pair of tornadoes along the Kansas-Missouri border with speeds of up to about 110 mph damaged homes and caused minor injuries, officials said. The first twister touched down around 6:30 p.m. Friday about 40 miles south...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Assoc. Seeks Hike in Liability Limits
Sep 21 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a public hearing on a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to increase maximum policy liability limits. The hearing under Docket No. 2780 will be held at 10:30...
Oregon Office Building Will Give Tenants Earthquake Warning
Sep 21 2015 // A Portland, Ore. office building will be able to warn tenants when an earthquake is about to strike. KGW-TV reported that the Radiator building is equipped with an earthquake early warning system. Sensors buried below the...
Wyoming Man And His Insurers to Pay $2.9M for 2012 Wildfire
Sep 21 2015 // A man who accidentally started a 2012 wildfire that burned over a mountain and threatened the town of Jackson has agreed to a $2.9 million payment under a legal settlement. James G. Anderson Jr., 79, will be responsible...
Bloomberg View: California’s Wildfires Didn’t Have to Be So Extreme
Sep 21 2015 // Warming temperatures and a historic drought made Northern California’s Valley fire faster to spread and harder to fight. But the bigger culprit, sadly but thankfully, was something under human control: forest...
California Wildfires Destruction Total Now Tops 1,000 Homes
Sep 21 2015 // It has been several days since two huge wildfires in Northern California peaked in their ferocity, yet the damage they did is still being revealed daily. The tally of homes destroyed topped 1,000 on Saturday after...
Why Now Is Time to Privatize Flood Insurance: A Candid Conversation with Hiscox USA CEO Walter
Sep 21 2015 // The private insurance industry is ready and anxious to take on flood risk, and politicians should reform the federal program now to take advantage of this interest, according to the U.S. executive of a leading specialty...
Dual Magnitude 4.0 Earthquakes Shake Northern Oklahoma
Sep 17 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded several earthquakes in northern Oklahoma, including two of magnitude 4.0. No damage or injuries are reported from the Tuesday and Wednesday temblors. The USGS reports a 4.0 magnitude...
Montana’s Wildfire Season Second-biggest So Far This decade
Sep 17 2015 // Montana’s fire season began quietly but has quickly grown to the second-largest so far this decade after lightning storms last month ignited a rash of blazes that spread rapidly amid bone-dry conditions. This season...
Update: Quake off Chile Slams Waves into Coastal Towns; Death Toll Rises
Sep 17 2015 // Strong aftershocks rippled through Chile on Thursday after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake that killed at least eight people and slammed powerful waves into coastal towns, forcing more than a million people from their...
Massive California Blazes, And It’s Not Even Official Wildfire Season Yet
Sep 16 2015 // A pair of massive blazes in the Northern California are a bleak reminder of how bad things can get in a state with persistent drought and windy conditions. A more worrisome thought is California’s official wildfire...
Forrest Service Maps Shows Expansion of WUI in West as Wildfires Burn
Sep 16 2015 // A new U.S. Forest Service report shows the continued expansion of housing development near forests, an area referred to as the wildland-urban interface, with direct implications for the cost of wildfire...
Midyear Renewals Show Early Signs of Price Stabilization: JLT Re Report
Sep 16 2015 // Downward pricing pressures eased during the June 1 and July 1 renewals – the first time since January 2013 – which suggests that a reinsurance pricing floor is not far away, according to a report published by JLT...
Wildfire in California Damages Five Big Power Plants
Sep 15 2015 // A California wildfire damaged five power plants at Calpine Corp.’s Geysers geothermal complex in Lake and Sonoma Counties. The so-called Valley Fire burned local power distribution lines, cooling towers and...
FEMA Provides Federal Funds to Help Fight Oregon Wildfire
Sep 15 2015 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Dry Gulch Fire in Baker County, Ore. FEMA Regional Administrator Kenneth D. Murphy determined that the...
Underinsurance of Property Is Growing Global Challenge: Swiss Re Report
Sep 15 2015 // The underinsurance of property risk – particularly natural catastrophe risks – has risen steadily over the past 40 years, even though claims payments have increased significantly during that period, according to Swiss...
Aon Launches Cat Model for Marine & Energy Insurers
Sep 15 2015 // Aon Benfield announced it has invested in an innovative catastrophe model to help marine and energy insurers more accurately assess their cargo risks. While there are plenty of catastrophe models in the non-marine sector,...
