Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
One Catastrophe Won’t Scare Away Alternative Capital: S&P Panelists
Jun 9 2014 // Catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance have surged to record levels this year thanks to the continuing influx of alternative capital into the reinsurance market, leaving credit analysts and...
Aon Benfield May Cat Report Highlights ‘Severe Weather’ in the U.S.
Jun 6 2014 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has released the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that...
Alaskan Volcano’s Alert Level Reduced to Orange
Jun 5 2014 // Rumblings under Alaska’s Pavlof Volcano have diminished, but scientists are keeping an eye on the state’s most active volcano in case it sends up another ash cloud. The volcano sent an ash plume to 22,000 feet...
Midwest Hit by Damaging Hail Storms, Tornadoes
Jun 5 2014 // Baseball-sized hail pummeled homes and cars in Nebraska and Iowa on June 2 as powerful thunderstorms moved through a swath of Midwest states, also causing severe flooding and prompting reports of tornadoes. The National...
Female-Named Hurricanes More Deadly But Less Feared
Jun 5 2014 // Which scares you more: Hurricane Victor or Hurricane Victoria? People are slightly less likely to flee an oncoming storm with a feminine name than a masculine one, a new study finds. But here is Victoria’s secret:...
Revised PERILS’ Loss Estimate from Windstorm Xaver Exceeds $1 Billion
Jun 5 2014 // PERILS AG has released its third loss estimate for windstorm Xaver, a storm which affected Western and Northern Europe on December 5-6, 2013. Windstorm Xaver is also known as Sinterklaasstorm in the Netherlands, Bodil in...
Senate Committee Advances Terrorism Insurance Renewal
Jun 3 2014 // The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved a legislation that would extend for seven years the government’s financial backstop of terrorism insurance. The panel approved by a 22-0 vote a bipartisan bill that would...
Wildfire Publicity Lights Fire Under California Homeowners
Jun 3 2014 // The recent plague of wildfires in Southern California and in neighboring states seems to have more people checking on their homeowners policies – and more people concerned about the threat of wildfires may be taking some...
Texas Windstorm Insurer’s Financial Outlook Improved as Hurricane Season Starts
Jun 3 2014 // Low catastrophe activity and claims experience so far this year have helped to put Texas’ insurer of last resort for properties along the Gulf Coast in a better position to face the 2014 hurricane season than it has...
Rhode Island Officials Remind Residents to Be Prepared for Hurricane Season
Jun 3 2014 // Rhode Island officials are urging residents to prepare for hurricane season. Gov. Lincoln Chafee says three to six hurricanes are expected to affect the Atlantic Coast this year and that people should take steps to be...
Hurricane Forecast Upped By 1 Over Weaker El Nino
Jun 3 2014 // Colorado State University increased the number of storms it expects to develop during the Atlantic hurricane season to 10 from nine. The forecast calls for four of those to become hurricanes, one of them a major system,...
Nearly $110M Damages From Colorado Hail, Wind, Flooding in May
Jun 2 2014 // Hail, wind and flooding in May caused an estimated $109.3 million in insured losses resulting from 28,442 auto and homeowners insurance claims filed, an insurance group reported on Monday. The damage estimates include...
Virginia Bureau of Insurance Offers Hurricane Preparedness Tips
Jun 2 2014 // Sunday, June 1, marked the official start of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, and Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance is encouraging consumers to ensure that they have the insurance coverage they need and to develop a...
Best Upgrades State Farm General’s ICR; Affirms State Farm and Subs FSR’s
Jun 2 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of State Farm General Insurance Company, and...
The Anatomy of Terrorism from BBC Correspondent Fergal Keane
Jun 2 2014 // BBC correspondent Fergal Keane, who’s been reporting from the world’s hotspots for 25 years, told delegates in his keynote speech at the recent European Insurance Forum in Dublin that the terrorist mind set,...
Pacific Ocean Is Key to Atlantic Hurricane Season
Jun 2 2014 // The Pacific Ocean holds one of the keys that forecasters say will determine how many hurricanes and tropical storms develop in the Atlantic this year. The size of the six-month storm season, which started June 1, may...
Professional Sports Teams Looking for Terrorism Insurance Win in Congress
Jun 2 2014 // Renewal of a U.S. terrorism insurance plan is gaining momentum in Congress, thanks to some big-league backing from a coalition that includes professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey leagues. The sports...
Flights Resume to Australian City of Darwin as Indonesian Volcano Calms
Jun 2 2014 // Flights resumed to and from Australia’s northernmost city of Darwin on Sunday after they were suspended for more than a day due to clouds of ash from an Indonesian volcano. Friday’s eruption of Sangeang Api...
U.S. Report: Climate Change Here, Deal With It
Jun 2 2014 // Climate change is in the here and now, according to a massive new report. The White House’s National Climate Assessment report is part of President Barack Obama’s effort to prepare the nation for the impacts of...
1 Year Later, Moore Is Study in Resilience
Jun 2 2014 // Just over one year ago, a deadly EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., making it the third most violent storm in less than 15 years to pummel the small city, which was struck by an EF5 tornado in 1999, and an EF4 in...
