Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ironshore International Launches Terrorist Coverage for High-Profile Events
May 29 2013 // Ironshore International has launched an insurance product that responds to the heightened risk exposure associated with high-profile events. The new product, “SecurEvent,” is a single broad form policy that...
Kansas Town Reports Tornado Damage, No Deaths
May 29 2013 // At least four tornadoes hit different counties in northeast Kansas Monday night, causing the most damage in the town of Marysville but no fatalities or serious injuries, according to preliminary reports from emergency...
Oklahoma Tornado Cost Insurers as Much as $3.5 Billion: RMS
May 29 2013 // The tornado that leveled an Oklahoma City suburb last week probably cost insurers $2 billion to $3.5 billion in claims, according to catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions Inc. The estimate includes damage to...
NHC: TS Barbara Nears Mexico’s Southwest Coast; Hurricane Watch Issued
May 29 2013 // A bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, issued at 2:00 AM PDT, locates the center of Tropical Storm Barbara, which is approaching the southwest coast of Mexico, as “moving toward the northeast near 5...
After Years of Increases, Florida Property Insurance Rates May Be Stabilizing
May 29 2013 // It’s been nearly eight years since Hurricane Wilma raked the southern end of Florida and caused billions in damages, the last of eight hurricanes to hit the state in 2004 and 2005. Yet even as the state has been...
Agents Helping Agents in Recovery from Oklahoma Tornadoes
May 29 2013 // Twelve hundred homes damaged or destroyed, 33,000 people impacted and $2 billion in property losses. Those are damage estimates from the deadly F5 tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore in the afternoon of May...
Insured Texas Tornadoes Damage Could Reach $250M
May 28 2013 // An industry group says insured damage from recent deadly tornadoes in North Texas could reach $250 million. Mark Hanna with the Insurance Council of Texas says the rough estimate could change as insurers continue to gather...
Officials Clarify Numbers on Oklahoma Tornado Damage
May 28 2013 // Authorities have clarified and significantly downgraded the number of homes damaged or destroyed in the May 20 tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb. Oklahoma City Police Department spokesman Dexter Nelson said on May 23 that...
New York Officials Urge Preparation for Hurricane Season
May 28 2013 // State officials are urging New York residents to prepare for hurricane season. The season starts June 1 and lasts through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week there is a 70 percent...
Does Public Understand What Storm Forecasters Are Talking About?
May 28 2013 // During a hurricane, storm surge is one of the greatest threats to life and land, yet many people don’t understand the dire warnings from forecasters to get out of its way. So this season, forecasters hope to offer...
Weather Service: Kansas Weekend Tornado Was an EF4
May 24 2013 // The National Weather Service says a tornado that traveled seven miles across rural western Kansas during the weekend was an EF4, with winds of 165 to 185 mph. The report from the agency’s Dodge City office follows a...
No New Federal Funds Needed for Oklahoma Tornado Recovery
May 24 2013 // Top U.S. lawmakers and officials said that the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma. The government has more than $11...
Oklahoma City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
May 24 2013 // Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett says 12,000 to 13,000 homes were affected by the tornado that tore through a city suburb. At least 24 people died when the tornado laid waste to Moore on May 20. The Oklahoma Insurance...
76 Tornadoes in May Caused $2B-$5B in Insured Losses: Eqecat
May 24 2013 // Tornadoes that struck the United States from May 18 to May 20 caused anywhere from $2 billion to $5 billion in insured losses, disaster modeling company Eqecat said. The firm said most of the losses were attributed to the...
Atlantic Coast Can Expect 3 to 6 Major Hurricanes This Season: NOAA
May 23 2013 // The government’s weather center is forecasting that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1 will be an active one, perhaps even extremely active, during its six months. Experts at the National...
Moore, Oklahoma Tornado Damage Estimated at More than $2B
May 23 2013 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department says a preliminary estimate suggests the cost of the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore could be more than $2 billion. Spokeswoman Calley Herth told The Associated Press...
Commentary: Accounting for Non-Modeled Sources of Loss
May 23 2013 // The purpose of modeling is to anticipate the likelihood and severity of catastrophes so that companies can prepare for their financial impact — before they occur. The evidence suggests that, for the most part,...
Florida Municipal Insurance Trust Issues $20 Million Cat Bond
May 23 2013 // A Florida insurance trust that provides property insurance and other products to cities around the state has issued a $20 million private placement catastrophe bond to help pay claims due to hurricanes. Towers Watson...
Top 10 U.S. Insurers in Tornado-Stricken States: SNL Financial
May 23 2013 // The Moore, Oklahoma tornado, which killed 24 people, was the deadliest to touch down during a nearly weeklong outbreak across the U.S. Midwest. The states hardest hit have been Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma,...
Oklahoma Schools Destroyed by Tornado Lacked ‘Safe Rooms’
May 22 2013 // In Moore, Oklahoma, an area residents call Tornado Alley because it’s struck by more ferocious twisters than anywhere in the U.S., two schools destroyed by yesterday’s storm lacked “safe room”...
