Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hailstorms Are the Costliest Natural Peril in Texas
Nov 14 2012 // Hurricanes may garner more attention but in Texas, hailstorms, not hurricanes, are the most damaging weather events that Texans face annually, according to the state’s insurance regulators. And, unlike hurricanes,...
Wildfires Will Cost Wyoming Over $40M
Nov 14 2012 // State Forester Bill Crapser says this year’s wildfires have consumed all the money the state had set aside for fire suppression. Crapser says the season depleted both the state’s entire fire suppression...
Willis WCMA Reports Sandy’s Cat Bond Impact Likely to be Muted
Nov 14 2012 // The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the catastrophe bond market is likely to be muted based on current estimates, with little impact on new pricing, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), part of global...
Kentucky Earthquake Not Due to Mining: Geologist
Nov 14 2012 // Geologists say the 4.3 magnitude earthquake that shook eastern Kentucky last weekend was too deep to be induced by the region’s underground mining activity. The epicenter was about 10 miles west of Whitesburg, in the...
Sandy to Have Limited Impact on Catastrophe Bond Market: Willis
Nov 14 2012 // Superstorm Sandy’s impact the catastrophe bond market is likely to be muted based on current estimates, with little impact on new pricing, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA). The scope and...
Best Affirms Markel International, Lloyd’s Syndicate Ratings; Outlook Stable
Nov 14 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a+” of UK-based Markel International Insurance Company...
Q&A With Attorneys on Emerging Business Insurance Topics
Nov 13 2012 // As companies large and small grapple with losses in Sandy’s aftermath, a number of critical — and costly — business questions have emerged. Darlene Alt and Robert DiUbaldo, two experienced insurance...
Arizona Judge Oks $3.7M In Restitution For Wildfire
Nov 13 2012 // A judge says two cousins who accidentally started the largest wildfire in Arizona history will have to pay more than $3.7 million in restitution. The amount covers the loss of homes and other property, cleanup from the...
Texas Commissioner: Windstorm Will Be an Issue for Texas Lawmakers
Nov 13 2012 // Among the hundreds of bills filed by Texas lawmakers on the first day of filing for the 2013 legislative session are a handful of proposals related to property/casualty insurance. There are bound to be more, but one...
2 Rare, Late-Season Tornadoes Hit Minnesota’s Twin Cities
Nov 13 2012 // Officials with the National Weather Service say two weak tornadoes touched down late Saturday on the south edge of the Twin Cities’ metropolitan region in Minnesota. Meteorologist Chris Franks tells the Star Tribune...
CCRIF Partners with Seismic Research Center for Quake, Volcano Risk
Nov 13 2012 // The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of The University of the West Indies have entered into a partnership to enhance the Accelerometric Network in the Eastern...
Feds: Levee System Did Not Cause Isaac Flooding
Nov 12 2012 // Federal officials say in a report released Nov. 9 that improvements to the New Orleans-area levee system did not cause Hurricane Isaac’s storm-surge flooding of areas in Louisiana that were not inundated during...
Superstorm Sandy Stress Scenarios Won’t Impact Insurer Ratings: Fitch
Nov 8 2012 // Even an extreme $40 billion scenario for property/casualty insurance industry losses from Hurricane Sandy would not drive material rating changes for insurers, analysts at Fitch Ratings said today. In a report providing a...
7.4 Magnitude Quake Shakes Active Guatemala Region: AIR Analysis
Nov 8 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, at 10:35:50 UTC on Nov 7, 2012 an earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 7.4 occurred at a depth of 41.6 km (25.9 miles) about 15 miles off the coastal town of...
Some Homeowners Unexpectedly Hit With ‘Windstorm Deductible’
Nov 7 2012 // In the immediate days after Superstorm Sandy, officials in the Northeastern states declared that hurricane deductibles would not apply to Sandy claims. Officials from northeastern states including New York, New Jersey and...
Colorado Springs Wildfire Expected To Create Jobs
Nov 7 2012 // Economists say a wildfire that burned 346 homes and scorched 28 square miles in the Colorado Springs area over the summer could provide an economic boost over the next five years. Insurance claims for the contents and...
Researchers Still Learning About 2002 Alaska Earthquake
Nov 6 2012 // The Denali Fault earthquake only rumbled for about 3 minutes when it shook Interior Alaska a decade ago, but some of the reverberations of that powerful seismic event are still being felt today. The 7.9 magnitude quake,...
Sandy Exposed Hospitals’ Lack of Disaster Preparedness
Nov 6 2012 // Kim Bondy was in New Orleans seven years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, and scores of patients died in flooded hospitals cut off from power. She never thought that she might face that danger herself. But...
Sandy Losses Within Hurricane Models, Manageable: Reinsurer Hiscox
Nov 5 2012 // Superstorm Sandy won’t put insurers’ finances under severe strain, and may allow them to push through a profit-boosting rise in prices next year, Hiscox , the biggest London-listed reinsurer, said on...
Hurricane Sandy Losses Expected to Top Irene’s
Nov 5 2012 // Hurricane Sandy appears to have easily caused more losses than last year’s Hurricane Irene, but final totals will be hard to come by for some time because of the scale of the disaster, catastrophe forecasting...
