Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
P/C Insurers Boost Bottom Line on Big Gain in Underwriting Through 9 Months
Dec 23 2013 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $43 billion in nine-months 2013 from $27.8 billion in nine-months 2012, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their...
Texas Lawmaker Wants Probe into Windstorm Insurance Association Emails
Dec 23 2013 // A Texas lawmaker has called for an investigation into racist emails uncovered within the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, which acknowledged in court that bigotry could have influenced a claim filed by a...
Geological Society: Kansas Earthquake, Oil Production Might Be Related
Dec 23 2013 // The Kansas Geological Society is investigating whether a recent earthquake in southern Kansas might have been caused by oil production practices in the area. But KGS interim director Rex Buchanan said it might be difficult...
Wildfire in California’s Big Sur 79% Contained
Dec 20 2013 // Rain and higher humidity on Thursday helped firefighters battling a wildfire in California’s Big Sur region that has destroyed an estimated 22 homes. The fire in the Los Padres National Forest was 79 percent...
Report Casts Light on High Cost of Homeowners Insurance in Florida
Dec 19 2013 // Floridians are paying the highest homeowner insurance rates in the nation even though the state has not been hit by a hurricane in nearly a decade. A national report shows the average premium for most Florida homeowners is...
Quake Reported in South-Central Kansas
Dec 18 2013 // A magnitude 3.8 earthquake hit south-central Kansas on Dec. 16, rattling windows and doors, but causing no reported damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the earthquake that hit about 9 a.m. to...
Swiss Re Reports 2013 Disaster Losses at $130 Billion; $44 Billion Insured
Dec 18 2013 // According to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re’s latest sigma report, insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013 are estimated to be around $44 billion, down from $81 billion in 2012....
Florida Tornado Damage Estimated at $5 Million
Dec 17 2013 // Seven homes were destroyed and more than 150 damaged by the tornado that struck a central Florida neighborhood Saturday, city officials said. The National Weather Service said the tornado had winds as high as 110 miles per...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Disavows Racism Allegations
Dec 16 2013 // Texas’ insurer of last resort in coastal areas has denied allegations that a culture of racism has existed within the organization. Responding to claims by a Houston-based trial lawyer that employees of the Texas...
A.M. Best Special Report: Homeowners Profitability Is an Ongoing Challenge
Dec 16 2013 // Despite the various strategies employed by companies that write the business, homeowners insurance historically has produced volatile underwriting performance, according to A.M. Best. And while strategies to make...
Illinois Gets $1M in Federal Grants After Tornadoes
Dec 13 2013 // Gov. Pat Quinn’s office says federal aid for Illinois tornado victims has topped $1 million. The governor’s office says that federal grants following the fatal Nov. 17 twisters have reached $1.06 million. The...
AIR Estimates Windstorm Xaver Insured Losses: $963 Million to $1.92 Billion
Dec 13 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured wind losses from Extratropical Cyclone Xaver will range between €700 million [$963 million] and €1.4 billion [$1.926 billion], with the majority of the...
Local Leaders Planning for Climate Effects
Dec 12 2013 // When it comes to climate change, local officials have a message for Washington: Lead or get out of the way. Local governments have long acted as first responders in emergencies and now are working to plan for sea level...
2013 Had Lowest Hurricane Count since 1982: Willis Re
Dec 12 2013 // The 2013 Atlantic storm season has proved one of the quietest in decades with the lowest number of hurricanes since 1982 and none of them considered ‘major’, according to insurance broker Willis Re. An...
Bond Managers Gain as Pension Funds Flock to Catastrophe Risk
Dec 12 2013 // Funds specializing in insurance-linked risks such as catastrophe bonds are benefiting as the $30 trillion pension industry increases bets in a market that hasn’t posted an annual loss. At Leadenhall Capital Partners...
Magnitude-4.5 Earthquake Rattles Central Oklahoma
Dec 9 2013 // A magnitude-4.5 earthquake in central Oklahoma shook residents on Dec. 7, just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Sooner state, and was followed by two smaller temblors...
Hurricane Strength Storm Xaver Slams UK, Northern Europe: AIR Analysis
Dec 6 2013 // A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide notes that Winter Storm Xaver hit the north of Scotland last night, Thursday the 5th of December, with wind gusts of more than 140 mph (225 km/h), recorded in the...
Super Typhoon Haiyan Tops Impact Forecasting’s November Cat Review
Dec 6 2013 // The latest edition of Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting Global Catastrophe Recap report for November highlights the havoc caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan when it made landfall in the central Philippines as “one...
PERILS Initial Loss Estimate for Windstorm Christian is $1.358 Billion
Dec 6 2013 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has issued its initial loss estimate for windstorm Christian, which affected Western and Northern Europe from 27 to...
Court Shields Developers From Terrorism-Related Damages in 9/11 Case
Dec 5 2013 // A federal appeals court in New York has given developers and builders of high-rises and other buildings added protection from lawsuits over property losses linked to terrorism, in a case stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001...
