Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rhode Island Hosting Statewide Hurricane Response Training This Week
Aug 1 2012 // Rhode Island emergency management officials are testing the state’s response to a major hurricane. The state’s National Guard and Emergency Management Agency are holding a hurricane simulation. It runs from...
The Libor Scandal – an Ongoing Major Catastrophe
Aug 1 2012 // The scope of the investigations that are unfolding in the wake of the charges against Barclay’s Bank that it rigged the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) have taken on the proportions of a major...
Of Hurricanes, Insurance, Mitigation and Carbon Taxes
Jul 25 2012 // I’m in New Orleans at a conference on Preparing the Gulf Coast for Extreme Weather. Its lead sponsor is a reinsurer, the Institute for Building and Home Safety is here, and there are lots of insurance people around....
Typhoon Vicente Hits Hong Kong, but Only Minor Damage Reported: AIR
Jul 25 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Vicente, the 8th named storm to form in the Northwest Pacific this year, struck Hong Kong at 4 a.m. Tuesday (July 24, 2012). Accompanied by heavy rains, a...
AIR Expands Suite of Catastrophe Models for Australia
Jul 24 2012 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced the expansion of its suite of catastrophe models for Australia “with the release of the industry’s first probabilistic bushfire model and updated tropical...
Willis ILS Report: Catastrophe Reinsurance Market Nearing Strategic Shift
Jul 23 2012 // A report from Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), a unit of Willis Group Holdings, concludes that the “catastrophe reinsurance market may be on the cusp of a strategic shift, with third party capital...
Insurers Warn Restaurants on Exposures that Could Interrupt Recovery
Jul 23 2012 // The restaurant industry has endured a difficult few years and while some establishments didn’t survive the economic storm, those that did are anxious to see their business grow again. They may not have to wait too...
April Tornadoes Set Record in Oklahoma
Jul 23 2012 // Timing rather than a trend seems to be the key as to why Oklahoma has broken the state record for tornadoes in the month of April the past two years, according to weather officials. In April 2011, there were 50 confirmed...
Landers Quake Still Teaching Seismic Lessons
Jul 23 2012 // If you’ve never heard of the Landers earthquake that struck Southern California 20 years ago last month, you’re in good company. But, for an earthquake almost no one remembers, it has had a lasting impact on...
Spirit AeroSystems’s Insurance Claim From Tornado Is Around $400M
Jul 22 2012 // Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., estimates its insurance claim from an April tornado will be about $400 million. The company said that it took a $55 million charge, or 26 cents per share, in the second quarter for...
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Urges Homeowners to Protect Against Storm Losses
Jul 20 2012 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is urging to take steps now to protect their homes in the event New York is hit by any of the nine to 15 storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts for the 2012...
Up Next: California’s Wildfire Season
Jul 19 2012 // With Colorado’s and New Mexico’s record wildfire seasons freshly in mind, some experts are starting to take note that California’s wildfire season is nearing, and with that there are two main points to be...
Allstate Reports Catastrophe Losses for Q2 of $820 Million
Jul 19 2012 // The nation’s largest publicly-held personal lines insurer, Allstate Corp., announced estimated catastrophe losses of $820 million, pre-tax, for the second quarter 2012, which includes $440 million for June. Last...
China Reinsurance Company Licenses AIR’s Suite of Cat Models
Jul 18 2012 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced that China Property & Casualty Reinsurance Company Ltd. (CPCR) has licensed its typhoon, earthquake, and multiple-peril crop insurance models for China to better...
Report: Insured Losses in Colorado Wildfires Nearly $450 Million
Jul 17 2012 // The two most destructive wildfires in Colorado’s history will cost insurers roughly $450 million, a regional insurance association said on Tuesday. The massive figure for insured losses comes from the total 600 homes...
The Hartford Expects Q2 Catastrophe Losses Near $300 Million
Jul 17 2012 // The Hartford said that it expects to report current accident year catastrophe losses of $280 million to $300 million before tax in the second quarter of 2012, as compared to $447 million before tax in the second quarter of...
Yes, Of Course We Do Need a National Catastrophe Solution
Jul 16 2012 // The National Conference of Insurance Legislators has a tendency to be a very deliberative and, yes, dilatory, body. During the meeting of its Property and Casualty Insurance Committee last Friday in Burlington, Vermont...
Chartis Enhances, Expands Private Client Group’s Wildfire Protection Unit
Jul 16 2012 // Chartis has enhanced its Private Client Group division’s Wildfire Protection Unit, including geographic expansion and improved monitoring technologies. The Unit now is available to clients in the Texas cities of...
Number of April Tornadoes Set Record in Oklahoma
Jul 16 2012 // Timing rather than a trend seems to be the key as to why Oklahoma has broken the state record for tornadoes in the month of April the past two years, according to weather officials. In April 2011, there were 50 confirmed...
6 Month Insured Losses at $12 Billion; Nat Cats Less Costly: Munich Re
Jul 13 2012 // Natural catastrophe losses were “relatively moderate” in the first six months of 2012, concludes Munich Re’s assessment for the first six months of the year. Overall global losses up to the end of June...
