Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insured Losses from Amarillo Hailstorm Climb to $500M
Aug 23 2013 // A massive hailstorm that moved through the Amarillo, Texas, area on May 28 has resulted in $500 million in insured losses to the panhandle region. The final figure was released by the Property Claim Services of the...
Insurance Industry Plans 8th Annual Tour of Texas Coast
Aug 23 2013 // For the eighth year in a row insurance spokesmen will team with the Texas Department of Insurance and meteorologists from the National Weather Service to advise Texas coastal residents of the potential dangers of...
IBHS Updates Report on Hurricane-Prone States’ Building Codes
Aug 22 2013 // Among coastal hurricane-prone states, North Carolina and Louisiana have weakened their building codes since 2012, while five states have strengthened theirs. Just in time for the height of the hurricane season, the...
FM Global Advises Property Owners to Be Proactive, Address Vulnerabilities
Aug 22 2013 // Business property insurer FM Global is urging property owners to take active measures now to help prevent potential storm losses as the peak of hurricane season approaches. “A big lesson from Hurricane Sandy is that...
Wildfires Across The West Push Spending Past $1B
Aug 22 2013 // More than 40 uncontained, active and large wildfires dot the western U.S. from Arizona to Washington state and Alaska, taxing national firefighting resources and helping to push spending past $1 billion for the year. The...
$56 Bn Economic Loss; $17 Bn Insured: Swiss Re’s 1st HY Disaster Report
Aug 21 2013 // According to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re, “total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $56 billion in the first half of 2013. The global insurance industry covered $20...
Hurricane Task Force Recommends Resilient Power for Wireless
Aug 20 2013 // U.S. wireless communications networks should be made more resilient in extreme weather emergencies, according to a government task force studying the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force...
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Addresses Insurance Challenges
Aug 20 2013 // The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued a report Monday that provides recommendations for mitigating harm from future storms. Recommendations include...
Earthquake Simulator Shakes Alaskan Complacency
Aug 20 2013 // An 8.0 magnitude earthquake sounds like a freight train and feels like the worst-ever air turbulence. Bookshelves tumble. Computers and television sets crash to the floor. It’s a struggle to stay upright. Even a fake...
Cat Bonds Rally with Hurricane Season Advancing: Credit Market Recap
Aug 20 2013 // Gains on catastrophe bonds are poised to exceed returns on speculative-grade company debt by the most since 2008 as the Atlantic hurricane season heads into its fourth month. Notes designed to protect insurers from payouts...
CCRIF Countries Renew Catastrophe Insurance Policies for 2013/14
Aug 20 2013 // The sixteen member governments of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have renewed their hurricane and earthquake insurance for the 2013/14 policy year that started June first. The bulletin noted:...
Found Boat in Hawaii May Be Tsunami Debris
Aug 19 2013 // The Department of Land and Natural Resources says a skiff that floated into Oahu’s Kawela Bay may be tsunami debris. KITV-TV reported the 20- to 25-foot skiff discovered Wednesday was covered with barnacles. A state...
San Francisco Bay Area Building Demolition Fuels Quake Study
Aug 19 2013 // It took just seconds for a 13-story building overlooking San Francisco Bay to implode, spewing smoke and chunks of concrete as it crumbled into a heap of rubble. But U.S. Geological Survey scientist Rufus Catchings was...
Central New Zealand Shaken by M6.5 Earthquake: AIR Analysis
Aug 19 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, homes and roads in central New Zealand were damaged by a M6.5 earthquake on Friday, August 16, at 2:31 p.m. local time (2:31 a.m., UTC), but no serious injuries have...
Amlin First-Half Profit Drops 17% as Catastrophe Claims Mount
Aug 19 2013 // Amlin Plc, the second-biggest Lloyd’s of London insurer by market value, posted a 17 percent drop in first-half profit as catastrophe claims jumped on flooding in central Europe. Profit was £140.2 million ($219...
Insurance Without TRIA
Aug 19 2013 // If Congress fails to renew or makes significant changes to the federal terrorism risk insurance program, some insurers will be forced to significantly alter their underwriting portfolios to reduce terrorism exposures. Also...
How to Manage the Winds of Change for High Net Worth Clients
Aug 16 2013 // As insurance professionals, we’re in the business of anticipating and responding to severe weather. However, heightened activity in recent years points to some startling trends: • Atlantic named storms in the month...
Insurers, Government Grapple with Costs of Growth in Wildland-Urban Interface
Aug 15 2013 // The summer of 2013 has been another severe fire season for the United States, a trend that has insurance companies bracing for a new normal: higher rates of property damage as Americans move to wildfire-prone areas in ever...
Tornado Damage Exceeds $30M in Wisconsin
Aug 14 2013 // Officials in the Fox Valley say damage from recent tornadoes exceeds $30 million. The National Weather Service tells WLUK-TV that six tornadoes have been confirmed during the storms. It had previously confirmed five...
Otter Declares Disaster for Idaho Wildfire Areas
Aug 14 2013 // Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has issued a disaster declaration for areas on southern Idaho ravaged in recent weeks by wildfires. The declaration announced Monday specifically targets Elmore County, where two large,...
