Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Midwest Storms Continue; At Least 1 Killed in Illinois Tornado
Apr 10 2015 // One person was reported killed and several others injured when a large tornado swept through Northern Illinois on April 9. The Illinois towns of Fairdale, Rochelle and Kirkland sustained major damage. Fairdale, a community...
RMS Releases Updated Europe Windstorm, North Atlantic Hurricane Models
Apr 10 2015 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, has released updated RMS Europe windstorm models and North Atlantic hurricane models. The 15.0 RMS Europe Windstorm Models’ hazard and vulnerability...
Why Homeowners Should Worry Despite ‘Calm’ Hurricane Forecast
Apr 10 2015 // The Colorado State University hurricane forecast for the Atlantic Ocean came out Thursday and called for seven named storms. That would be the fewest since 1997. The CSU forecast will be followed soon by a host of others,...
How Another Country’s Insurance Industry Is Facing Climate Change
Apr 9 2015 // Tim Grafton, chief executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, lives in a country surrounded by risk on all sides, and he’s unabashed in his efforts to use flooding events, frequent storms or other...
Calm Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Due to Cooler Seas, El Nino
Apr 9 2015 // The Atlantic Ocean may have one of its quietest hurricane seasons in decades because of cooler water in the Atlantic and an El Nino in the Pacific, Colorado State University forecasters said. William Gray and Phil...
Windstorm Niklas Was Costliest Non-U.S. Event in Q1 2015: Impact Forecasting
Apr 9 2015 // Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, released the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide...
Chubb Estimates Q1 Pre-Tax Catastrophe Losses of Approximately $250M
Apr 8 2015 // The Chubb Corporation announced Tuesday that it estimates the impact of losses from catastrophes for the first quarter of 2015 to be approximately $250 million before tax ($0.69 per share after tax). The Warren, New...
CEA Says It’s Seen No Fracking-Related Earthquake Claims
Apr 8 2015 // The California Earthquake Authority, the state-run insurance pool that is the primary source of residential earthquake coverage in the Golden State, says it hasn’t received any claims that assert human-caused...
Spring Forecast Warns of Severe Thunderstorms, Hail, Tornadoes
Apr 8 2015 // It’s again the time of year when a mix of cool air from Canada, warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and a touch of energy off the Pacific can all wrap together to unleash storms across the U.S. Midwest and...
RMS Commends Tokyo’s Adoption of Nat Cat Quake Loss Reduction Plan
Apr 8 2015 // Catastrophe modeling firm RMS has issued a statement supporting the recently-announced plan by the city of Tokyo to halve expected earthquake casualties over the next ten years, urging other cities and countries to follow...
Citizens Board Approves $1B in Pre-Event Bonds for 2015 Hurricane Season
Apr 8 2015 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s Board of Governors has approved the issuance of up to $1 billion in pre-event bonds to provide Citizens with readily available cash flow for the 2015 hurricane season and...
3.6 Magnitude Missouri Temblor Shows Need for Quake Insurance, Regulator Says
Apr 7 2015 // No damage was reported from a magnitude 3.6 earthquake in southeast Missouri on April 1, but the state’s insurance director says it night illustrated the need for earthquake insurance coverage The quake occurred at...
TWIA Transfers $262M Into Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund
Apr 6 2015 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has transferred $262.7 million into its Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund as a result of its 2014 operations. The transfer brings the CRTF total to its largest balance at roughly $480...
Lloyd’s of London Offers Wildfire Insurance to Oregon at Higher Rates
Apr 6 2015 // The state of Oregon has a chance to continue its unique insurance policy that helps pay for fighting wildfires in big burning years – but at a higher premium and deductible. Lloyd’s of London has offered to cover...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Private Carrier, UPC, Interested in 60K Policies
Apr 6 2015 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) announced that a carrier participating in its depopulation program has signaled an interest in taking over around 60,000 TWIA policies. TWIA is the property insurer of last...
1 Dead as Severe Storms, Tornadoes Sweep Across Oklahoma
Apr 6 2015 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak said more than 1,100 homeowners insurance claims had been filed by the day after severe weather crossed the state in late March, leaving one dead and many injured in the wake of...
Feds to Release New Earthquake Hazard Map for Oklahoma
Apr 6 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey is expected to release a new hazard map for earthquakes in Oklahoma. The Oklahoman reports that data collection has continued with the help of the Oklahoma Geological Survey after the state...
Storm Surge Alerts to Begin on Atlantic Coast This Hurricane Season
Apr 2 2015 // As the people of New Orleans, New Jersey and New York know all too well, much of the death and damage caused by hurricanes isn’t from the wind. It’s from the storm surge. When the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season...
Philippines Warns Tourists to Take Precautions as Typhoon Maysak Approaches
Apr 2 2015 // The Philippines is urging tourists to take precautions or cut short Easter vacations, and may evacuate thousands of people in the path of approaching Typhoon Maysak. The storm may affect as many as a million people, the...
Oklahoma Gov. Requests Federal Disaster Declaration
Apr 1 2015 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has requested a federal disaster declaration for Tulsa and Cleveland counties in the wake of deadly tornadoes that ripped through two mobile home parks near Sand Springs and another tornado that...
