Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Storm Sandy on Track to Become Hurricane
Oct 23 2012 // Late Monday, Sandy became the eighteenth named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. According to the National Hurricane Center, Sandy is expected to strengthen during the next 24 hours and become a hurricane on...
Hiscox Names Dixon to Head Catastrophe Research; Adds 2 Reinsurance Trainees
Oct 23 2012 // London-based Hiscox has appointed Dr. Richard Dixon as its group head of Catastrophe Research. In addition, Hiscox expanded its London market reinsurance team with the recruitment of Jonathan Lord and Nick Orton as trainee...
Lower Catastrophe Losses, Better Rate Environment Increase P/C Net Income: A.M. Best
Oct 22 2012 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s underwriting and operating performance improved substantially in the first half of 2012 according to a special report by A.M. Best Co. Catastrophe losses, while remaining...
Alaska Setting For Japanese Documentary On Tsunami
Oct 22 2012 // A Japanese broadcasting group is filming a documentary about tsunami debris in Kodiak, Alaska this week. NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting station, is filming a documentary about tsunami debris in Alaska to...
Falling Trees: Act of God or Covered Event?
Oct 22 2012 // Another Atlantic hurricane season is nearing its official end on Nov. 30, but the peak activity period of August to October is largely complete. While it has been an active season in terms of named storms, only a few have...
Louisiana Citizens: Claims from Hurricane Isaac 85% Settled
Oct 22 2012 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported as of Oct. 15 it has received 17,059 claims from Hurricane Isaac. Ninety-seven percent of those claims have been inspected by company adjusters and 85 percent have been...
Attorney: Catastrophic Weather Slamming Oklahoma Property Market
Oct 22 2012 // Property insurance claims in Oklahoma totaled $1.6 billion in 2011, according to one attorney familiar with the property insurance market in that state. Much of that was the result of catastrophic weather conditions that...
Homeowners Insurance Claims Cost Rising Rapidly, Study Says
Oct 22 2012 // The cost of homeowners insurance claims has been rising rapidly because of the combined effects of rising claim severity and increases in claim frequency, according to an insurance industry report. A recent Insurance...
Assessing Tropical Cyclone Risk in Hawaii Through the Lens of Hurricane Iniki
Oct 22 2012 // Hurricane Risk in the Central Pacific Basin Twenty years ago, the most powerful storm to strike the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history made landfall on the island of Kauai on Sept. 11, 1992. With sustained winds of 140...
‘Big One’ Looms in Minds of Experts Before California ShakeOut
Oct 18 2012 // A day before more than 9 million people in California took part in a massive nationwide earthquake drill on Thursday, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones stood in a room full of risk professionals in the San...
Earthquake in Maine Rattles New England States
Oct 18 2012 // The earthquake that rattled southern Maine was felt in New England states as far away as Connecticut, but caused no apparent damage or injuries. Patrons of a pizza parlor near the epicenter of Tuesday’s quake...
Travelers Profit Soars to $864M in Q3 as Catastrophe Losses Fall
Oct 18 2012 // The Travelers Companies Inc. reported today $864 million net profit for the third quarter — up 159 percent from the same period a year ago when the insurer posted a $333 million profit. Travelers’ latest...
Rafael, 9th Hurricane, Bypasses Bermuda; Tropical Storm Paul Weakens
Oct 17 2012 // Rafael became the season’s ninth hurricane on Monday after tracking through the Leeward Islands. The storm then bypassed Bermuda late Tuesday evening. As of the National Hurricane Center’s Wednesday, 5:00 AM...
Iowa on Pace for Slowest Tornado Year in 5 Decades
Oct 17 2012 // Iowa is on pace to see its least active tornado season in nearly 50 years, thanks to the drought. There have been only 16 recorded tornadoes this year, the fewest since 1963, according to State Climatologist Harry...
Nearly 600,000 in Virginia Sign Up for Earthquake Drill
Oct 16 2012 // Nearly 600,000 Virginia residents are expected to participate in a multistate earthquake drill this week. Gov. Bob McDonnell says many people didn’t know about earthquake safety when a magnitude-5.8 quake hit Louisa...
ACE USA’s Excess Casualty Unit Expands Catastrophe Management Coverage
Oct 15 2012 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, has expanded its catastrophe management insurance products with the introduction of the ACE Cat Management 2.5 endorsement by its ACE Excess Casualty Unit. This...
Louisiana Citizens: More Than 17K Claims from Hurricane Isaac, 85% Settled
Oct 15 2012 // Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported it has received 17,059 claims from Hurricane Isaac. Ninety-seven percent of those claims have been inspected by company adjusters and 85 percent have been settled. Loss...
Colorado Giving $1.3 Million For Wildfire Recovery
Oct 14 2012 // Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is providing $1.3 million for recovery in the Lower North Fork Fire burn area. Hickenlooper says the funding announced Friday can be used to pay for such things as removing burned trees in...
Tropical Storm Rafael Batters Caribbean; Heads To Bermuda: AIR
Oct 14 2012 // As of Sunday afternoon, Tropical Storm Rafael was moving away from the Leeward Islands after battering the islands with strong winds and heavy rain. Rafael, the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, has...
Ore. County to Ditch Tsunami Sirens; Resident Objects on Facebook
Oct 12 2012 // When the big one hits the Oregon coast, people won’t need sirens, say experts – they’ll know by the intense trembling beneath their feet that a tsunami is on the way and it’s time to hustle to high...
