Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricane Sandy’s Impact
Nov 5 2012 // Hurricane Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline on Oct. 29, bringing 80 mph winds and hurling a record-breaking 13.88-foot surge of seawater. Following the storm’s landfall, more than 7 million residences and...
Texas Lawmaker: TWIA’s Ike Litigation Costs Still Rising
Nov 5 2012 // Texas’ insurer of last resort for coastal property has paid out more than $1.2 billion in individual litigation costs related to 2008’s Hurricane Ike, one state lawmaker says. Information released by Rep. Larry...
Trends
Nov 5 2012 // It’s interesting to see what’s on people’s minds as potential catastrophes develop. Google’s top search on Oct. 29 as Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast were for the “Weather...
‘Big One’ Looms in Minds of Experts Before California ShakeOut
Nov 5 2012 // A day before more than 9 million people in California took part in a massive nationwide earthquake drill in mid-October, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones stood in a room full of risk professionals in the San...
Alaska Setting for Japanese Documentary on Tsunami
Nov 5 2012 // A Japanese broadcasting group has been filming a documentary about tsunami debris in Kodiak, Alaska. NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting station, is filming a documentary about tsunami debris in Alaska to raise...
9.4 M Drop, Cover And Hold On
Nov 5 2012 // More than 9.4 million Californians reportedly practiced the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” drill in mid-October in preparation for a major earthquake. The 2012 Great California ShakeOut involved record numbers of...
Hurricane Deductibles Won’t Apply for Sandy in Del. Penn., R.I., D.C.
Nov 4 2012 // [Update: Maine also announced this week that hurricane deductibles would not apply for Sandy-related claims in the state. The Maine Bureau of Insurance told Insurance Journal Monday, Nov. 5, that hurricane deductibles will...
The Hartford’s Q3 Profit Soars; CEO Calls Hurricane Sandy ‘Manageable Exposure’
Nov 2 2012 // The Hartford Financial Services Group reported $401 million profit for its third quarter, up from $60 million profit posted during the same period one year ago. CEO Liam McGee said the Hartford generated strong...
Is Global Warming to Blame for Superstorm? Scientists Weigh In
Nov 2 2012 // Climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer stood along the Hudson River and watched his research come to life as Hurricane Sandy blew through New York. Just eight months earlier, the Princeton University professor reported that...
Controversy Over Hurricane Deductibles May Just Be Beginning
Nov 2 2012 // When the National Hurricane Center declared Sandy a “post-tropical storm” just before it made landfall, a lot of homeowners across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Maryland may have saved a lot of money....
Hurricane Sandy Takes Toll on New York’s Small Shops, Restaurants
Nov 2 2012 // Pumping water out of basements and yanking rotten food out of refrigerators, shop and restaurant owners said on Thursday they wonder when the power will come back and, more importantly, how they will possibly recover from...
Scope of Hurricane Sandy Widens, Death Toll Rises
Nov 2 2012 // From New York City’s Staten Island to the popular beach towns of the Jersey Shore, rescuers and officials on Friday faced growing evidence of widespread destruction wrought by superstorm Sandy, mounting anger over...
Falling Trees: Act of God or Covered Event?
Nov 2 2012 // Although not nearly on the scale of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Hurricane Isaac caused a surprising amount of damage in Louisiana despite the fact that it was only a category 1 hurricane, the weakest category by...
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo: New Yorkers Won’t Have to Pay Hurricane Deductible for Sandy
Nov 1 2012 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that New York homeowners will not have to pay potentially large hurricane deductibles on insurance claims stemming from damage caused by Sandy. New York joins other...
Flood Insurance Still Relatively Rare in Northeast
Oct 31 2012 // Many homeowners who suffered losses because of flooding from Hurricane Sandy are likely to find themselves out of luck. Standard homeowners policies don’t cover flooding damage, and the vast majority of homeowners...
No Hurricane Deductibles for Sandy Claims in New Jersey, Maryland
Oct 31 2012 // Hurricane deductibles will not be applicable for Sandy-related claims in New Jersey, the state where the superstorm made landfall late Monday. New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Acting Commissioner Ken...
Hurricane Sandy Losses Should Not Affect Most Insurer Ratings or Premiums: S&P
Oct 31 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it expects Hurricane Sandy to have only limited impact on the ratings on U.S. property/casualty insurers, global reinsurers, and certain catastrophe bonds. Although it...
Hurricane Deductibles Will Not Apply for Sandy-Related Claims in Conn.
Oct 31 2012 // The Connecticut insurance department issued a notice to the insurance industry Tuesday, alerting the industry that companies may not impose a hurricane deductible on Connecticut claims related to superstorm...
Canada’s Manulife Says Reinsurace Exposure to Hurricane Sandy ‘Manageable’
Oct 31 2012 // Toronto-based Manulife Financial, one of North America’s largest insurers, said its exposure to Hurricane Sandy was manageable and within its risk tolerance. The company, based in Toronto, is primarily a life...
Hurricane Sandy Silences Atlantic City’s Casinos
Oct 31 2012 // Hurricane Sandy has silenced the thousands of slot machines and high-rollers who normally crowd the black jack and roulette tables of Atlantic City, but the resort’s casino companies wager they could be back in...
