Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2012 Hurricane Season at Halfway Point
Sep 14 2012 // Thus far, the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season that is about at its midpoint has seen 14 tropical storms, with seven strengthening to hurricane status. According to catastrophe modeling firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS),...
Hurricane Isaac Insured Losses to Reach $1-$2 Billion: RMS
Sep 14 2012 // U.S. insured losses from Hurricane Issac’s wind and surge impacts on the U.S. Gulf Coast will fall between USD$1−2 billion, excluding rainfall driven flood losses and all National Flood Insurance Program losses,...
Utility Hit With Lawsuit Over Utah Wildfire
Sep 13 2012 // Nearly 100 property owners are suing Rocky Mountain Power and blaming the utility for one of Utah’s largest wildfires this year. The Wood Hollow Fire destroyed 52 cabins or houses in central Utah and left one man...
Alaska To Get $1 Million For Tsunami Cleanup
Sep 12 2012 // Japan is providing money for cleanup of debris from that country’s tsunami last year. KTUU-TV reported that Alaska will receive $1 million from Japan. The money is part of a $6 million appropriation for the task to...
New York City Cleans Up From 2 Twisters After Eastern Storms
Sep 10 2012 // Two tornadoes struck the outer edges of New York City this past Saturday, hurling debris into the air and knocking out power in an area unaccustomed to the phenomenon. No serious injuries were reported when a twister hit a...
Tropical Storm Leslie Brushes Bermuda, Heads Northeast to Newfoundland
Sep 10 2012 // The core of Tropical Storm Leslie passed 120 miles (200 km) east of Bermuda, bringing sustained winds of 39 mph (and gusts of up to 54 mph) and heavy rains to the island on Sunday, Sept 9. Leslie is currently accelerating...
Survivors of Earthquakes in Southwest China Await Relief
Sep 10 2012 // Survivors of a series of earthquakes that killed 81 people and injured more than 800 in a mountainous area of southwestern China were desperately waiting for more aid to arrive Sunday as jolting aftershocks kept fears high...
Report: Wildfires Pose Risk to Three-Quarter-Million Western U.S. Homes
Sep 10 2012 // More than three-quarters of a million homes in the Western U.S. have a high risk of wildfire damage, according to a report released by Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic. CoreLogic’s Wildfire Hazard Risk Report...
Reinsurance Rendezvous Focuses on Euro Zone, Interest Rates, Capital
Sep 10 2012 // For once there’s no natural catastrophe hanging over the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo (the 56th edition). Tropical storm Leslie missed Bermuda and Hurricane Michael is safely out in the Atlantic. But...
Hurricane Ike Claims Still Being Filed Four Years Later
Sep 10 2012 // Nearly four years after Hurricane Ike made landfall near Galveston Island, coastal residents are still filing claims and hundreds of lawsuits. Most of the legal activity is aimed at the Texas Windstorm Insurance...
Lessons from Andrew
Sep 10 2012 // Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida with winds topping 160 mph on August 24, 1992, devastating several communities. According to Gary Kerney, of Verisk’s Property Claims Services, the insurance industry had never seen...
Disasters Happen
Sep 10 2012 // If it’s not one thing it’s another. Drought, wildfires, hurricanes, floods. Whatever happened to the lazy, hazy days of summer? Texas mostly dodged the drought and wildfire bullets this year, but the state...
Wind Claims from Hurricane Isaac Only Part of the Story
Sep 10 2012 // Insurance claims from Hurricane Isaac, which made landfall in far Southeast Louisiana on Aug. 28, could climb to $1.2 billion, according to one catastrophe modeling firm. AIR Worldwide estimated losses at $1.2 billion, but...
Lower Catastrophe Losses Boost P/C Insurers’ Earnings in Q2: Moody’s
Sep 10 2012 // U.S. property/casualty insurers reported significantly higher net income in the second quarter of 2012 relative to 2011, driven by lower catastrophe losses and increased growth in earned premiums, said Moody’s...
Analysis: Florida’s Insurers, Reinsurance and Catastrophic Storms
Sep 10 2012 // Since 1996, Demotech has rated most of the homegrown Florida domiciled insurers. Our efforts have focused on the assignment of Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) to all financially stable insurers, start-ups as well as...
Texas DA Investigating State Farm Hurricane Claims
Sep 9 2012 // Texas investigators have opened a criminal probe into how State Farm handled what may turn out to be thousands of insurance claims from Gulf Coast homeowners involving damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008, officials...
Criminal Investigation Launched Over Hurricane Ike Claim
Sep 7 2012 // Texas homeowner Jim Warner has been locked in a legal battle with State Farm over denial of insurance claims for the damages to his home from Hurricane Ike. That battle was just upgraded to a category five by the Travis...
Aon Benfield August Cat Report Focuses on Isaac; Insurance Cover Disparity
Sep 7 2012 // Aon Benfield’s latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during August, notes that Hurricane Isaac was “the first land falling...
Commentary: World Economy Entering Into Financial Hurricane Season
Sep 7 2012 // The North Atlantic hurricane season runs from mid-August to October, with a strong peak in storm activity around the middle of September. A less familiar but even more destructive pattern of disturbances is the financial...
Hurricane Leslie Moving Slowly Towards Bermuda; Michael is 1st Cat 3 Storm
Sep 6 2012 // Leslie has become a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, 120 km/h. A gradual strengthening is forecast over the next 48 hours. The latest bulletin, posted at 5:00 a.m....
