Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tennessee Survived 36 Tornadoes in 2013
Jan 8 2014 // Tennessee had 36 tornadoes in 2013 with no fatalities. According to National Weather Service Meteorologist Bobby Boyd, in the Nashville office, 25 of the state’s tornadoes took place in January. March and June saw...
Europe Hit by $2.25 B Economic Loss: Impact Forecasting December Cat Report
Jan 8 2014 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has issued its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report for December 2013. It highlights the impact on Europe of a series of...
Aon Benfield Securities Places $250 Million Cat Bond for QBE’s VenTerra Re
Jan 7 2014 // Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield, announced that it has successfully underwritten and placed a $250 million catastrophe bond...
Munich Re’s Review of 2013 Cat Losses Focuses on Weather-Related Events
Jan 7 2014 // In its annual review of loss events in the past year, Munich Re emphasized the “exceptionally high losses from weather-related catastrophes in Europe and Supertyphoon Haiyan,” which, the report said,...
$1.5B in Louisiana Hurricane Recovery Aid Remains Unspent
Jan 3 2014 // Louisiana has yet to spend $1.5 billion of federal disaster recovery aid provided by Congress after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike ravaged the state in 2005 and 2008. The flexible block grant rebuilding and...
Lloyd’s Underwriters Warn of Rising Danger from Cyber Terrorism
Jan 3 2014 // An article on the Lloyd’s website notes that “industrial facilities from nuclear plants to dams are increasingly coming under attack from cyber terrorists bent on causing physical damage and disruption from...
Joplin, Missouri Publishes Book Featuring Tornado Experiences
Jan 2 2014 // Joplin has published a collection of stories that chronicle the 2011 tornado that devastated the southwest Missouri city. The book, titled “Joplin Pays It Forward,” can be downloaded for free at the...
Second Suicide Bomber in Russia’s Volgograd Kills 14 on Bus
Dec 31 2013 // A bomb ripped a bus apart in Volgograd on Monday, killing 14 people in the second deadly attack blamed on suicide bombers in the southern Russian city in 24 hours and raising fears of Islamist attacks on the Winter...
Reinsurance Rates Down by 11% for January Renewals: Guy Carpenter Survey
Dec 30 2013 // Guy Carpenter & Co. has reported that reinsurance rates-on-line fell at the January 1, 2014 renewal in nearly all classes and regions. The reinsurance broker’s global renewal report pointed to “strong...
Terrorism Insurance Extended to Four Airlines
Dec 29 2013 // U.S. government insurance that guarantees airlines are covered against terrorism and war was extended for four carriers, including Virgin America Inc., that otherwise would have lost coverage at the end of the...
CoreLogic Acquires Catastrophe Modeling Firm Eqecat
Dec 29 2013 // CoreLogic, an Irivine, Calif. company that provides the insurance, financial services and real estate industries with data and analytics, has acquired catastrophe modeling firm Eqecat from ABS Group. Alyson Austin,...
Oklahoma Homes Earthquake Shaken On Christmas
Dec 27 2013 // It wasn’t Santa and his reindeer landing on roofs that shook some central Oklahoma homes early Christmas morning. A small earthquake struck near Spencer at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geology...
In Rural Mississippi, Recovery Uneven a Year After Tornado
Dec 27 2013 // A year after a strong tornado hit Mississippi’s rural Pearl River County, residents are recovering unevenly. Sue Hubbard’s family has a new metal roof on their new house, thanks in part to insurance payments....
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....
