Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Energy Companies Sued Over Earthquake Damage
Feb 23 2015 // An Oklahoma resident has sued two energy companies seeking class-action status for people in nine counties who were affected by recent earthquakes. Jennifer Lin Cooper of Prague filed the suit against Tulsa-based New...
Sophisticated Resilience Model in Development in Colorado – And It’ll be Free
Feb 20 2015 // Efforts are underway in Colorado to build a sophisticated computer model that will offer a look down to the minute details at just how communities may withstand – or crumble under – perils like earthquakes, hurricanes,...
Central Washington Jolted by M4.3 Earthquake
Feb 19 2015 // A magnitude-4.3 earthquake rumbled under Washington state’s Cascade Range, but no damage has been reported. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network says the quake struck at 1:04 a.m. Wednesday and was centered about 20...
PERILS Puts Initial Loss Estimate for Windstorm Elon-Felix at $374 Million
Feb 19 2015 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, announced that its initial loss estimate of the insured property market loss for windstorm Elon-Felix, which...
Energy Companies Sued in Oklahoma over Earthquake Damage
Feb 12 2015 // A Prague, Okla., resident has filed a lawsuit against two energy companies seeking class-action status for people in nine counties who were affected by recent earthquakes. Jennifer Lin Cooper filed the suit against...
Earthquake Warning System in Obama Budget Pleases Lawmakers
Feb 12 2015 // President Barack Obama’s recommendation to spend $5 million next year on an early earthquake warning system for the West Coast represents a significant breakthrough, congressional supporters of the project...
$324 Million: PERILS’ Final Loss Estimate for Windstorm Tini
Feb 12 2015 // PERILS AG announced that its final property insurance market loss estimate for windstorm Tini, also known as Darwin, which affected Ireland and the United Kingdom on 12 and 13 February 2014, is €286 million [$324...
Bills Aimed at Property Claims Litigation Expected in Texas Legislative Session
Feb 11 2015 // Texas lawmakers are expected to file legislation this year aimed at stemming the tide of property claims litigation in the wake of catastrophic weather events, such as hailstorms. Proponents of such legislation would like...
Firefighters Gain on California Wildfire That Destroyed 40 Homes
Feb 9 2015 // Firefighters on Sunday evening gained the upper hand on a wind-driven wildfire that destroyed 40 homes, burned nearly 11 square miles and forced about 150 people to leave two small California towns at the eastern base of...
PartnerRe Appoints Haft as Head of Catastrophe
Feb 9 2015 // PartnerRe Ltd. announced that Greg Haft has been appointed head of catastrophe, subject to Bermuda immigration approval. Based in Bermuda, Haft is responsible for PartnerRe’s worldwide catastrophe reinsurance...
Though Rising, Ohio Home and Auto Insurance Rates Still Low
Feb 9 2015 // Combined, average homeowners and auto insurance premiums in Ohio are nearly $500 less than national averages, according to the state’s insurance department. Personal lines premiums in the state are among the lowest...
Work on ‘Tsunami-Proof’ School on Washington Coast Underway
Feb 9 2015 // Ground has been broken for a new school building on the Washington coast at Westport that officials say is designed to be tsunami-proof. The planned “vertical evacuation structure” will be an addition to the...
Legislation Addressing Property Claims Litigation Likely to Crop Up in Texas
Feb 9 2015 // By the end of 2008, the Texas residual market for insuring seacoast properties for wind and hail figured it had enough resources available to pay claims for both Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Dolly that hit the Texas coast...
Geologists Look for Earthquake, Fracking Connection in Kansas
Feb 6 2015 // For at the last 15 months, Kansas geologist Rex Buchanan estimates, he’s spent 90 percent of his time studying something once relatively rare in the state — earthquakes. He has learned a lot, said the director of...
Minor Damage to Courthouse after Northern Oklahoma Earthquake Swarm
Feb 6 2015 // A swarm of earthquakes has shaken parts of Alfalfa County in northern Oklahoma. The U.S. Geological Survey says four earthquakes have been recorded around Cherokee and Helena since late on Feb. 4, including a magnitude 4.3...
Paris Murders Make Finding a Solution to Violence More Imperative
Feb 6 2015 // It will be a month on Saturday since the murderous attacks on the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the kosher supermarket in Paris took place. These were not the first such attacks by fanatics on...
Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting Jan. Cat Report Highlights Winter Storms
Feb 6 2015 // The latest edition of Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team’s, Global Catastrophe Recap report, evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during...
Attorneys, Insurers Facing Off over Hail Litigation in Texas
Feb 4 2015 // The vestiges of twin hailstorms that ravaged the south Texas coast in 2012 are now blowing through the halls of the Capitol in Austin. Two of the state’s most-powerful lobbies, the insurance industry and trial...
Hannover Re: Capital Markets Are ‘More Friend Than Foe’ to Reinsurers
Feb 4 2015 // Pension and hedge funds flush with cash and hungry for yield are creating a market for reinsurers willing to look past the price cuts these investors have inflicted on traditional catastrophe coverage. The growth of...
Though Rising, Ohio Home and Auto Insurance Rates Still Low
Feb 3 2015 // Combined, average homeowners and auto insurance premiums in Ohio are nearly $500 less than national averages, according to the state’s insurance department. Personal lines premiums in the state are among the lowest...
