Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
P/C Market to See Only Moderate Changes in Rates in 2012: Willis
Nov 4 2011 // Property/casualty insurance rates will continue to be flat to with some slight increases or decreases in most major and specialty lines of insurance. Some exceptions to that trend include catastrophe-exposed property...
AIG Reports Q3 Net Loss of $4.1 Billion
Nov 3 2011 // American International Group reported on Thursday a net loss of $4.1 billion and an after-tax operating loss of $3.0 billion for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2011, compared with a net loss of $2.5 billion and an...
Florida, Georgia Agree on Catastrophe Cooperation Plan
Nov 2 2011 // Florida and Georgia have renewed their partnership to provide services in the event a catastrophe compromises their ability to respond to a disaster. First drafted in 2009, the updated plan is designed to ensure a...
S&P Affirms Montpelier Re Ratings; Outlook Stable
Nov 1 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB’ long-term counterparty credit rating on Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. and its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength...
AIR Gives Preliminary Analysis of Peru Quake Losses
Oct 31 2011 // In a bulletin released shortly after the earthquake in Peru, Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide said that “given the relatively sparse population in the epicentral area and the fact that insurance penetration is...
AIR Worldwide Launches Multiple Peril Crop Insurance Model for China
Oct 31 2011 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced that it has released the industry’s first Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) Model for China. AIR said the “new model provides a fully probabilistic...
Q3 Earnings Report: Transatlantic, W.R. Berkley Post Lower Profits
Oct 28 2011 // New York-headquartered international reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings reported third-quarter net income of $68 million, down significantly from $134 million one year ago. The earnings were hurt by $71 million of pre-tax...
50 Homes Added to Louisiana Hurricane Repair Program
Oct 28 2011 // Fifty additional homes have been added to a federal repair program for people in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, whose houses were damaged by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Times-Picayune reports the parish council...
UPDATE: Hurricane Rina Bearing Down on Yucatan Peninsula
Oct 26 2011 // The latest report from the national Hurricane Center in Miami at 10:00 A.M. CD warns that the Mexican government “has issued a hurricane warning for the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Cancun to San...
AIR Estimates Turkey Insured Quake Losses at $56.5 to $170 Million
Oct 26 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses from the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Sunday, October 23rd, near the city of Van, will be between 100 million TRY ($56.5 million)...
Accident Fund Will Cover Comp Claim for Joplin Tornado Survivor
Oct 25 2011 // Michigan-based Accident Fund Insurance Company of America now says it will honor the workers’ compensation claims for a man injured during the tornado outbreak in Joplin, Mo., earlier this year. Mark Lindquist, a...
Hurricane Rina Strengthens off of Yucatan Peninsula
Oct 25 2011 // According to the most recent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, issued at 11:00 EDT, Hurricane Rina was located about 300 miles, 480 km, east southeast of Chetumal Mexico, and about 305 miles, 490 km,...
UPDATE: Turkey Quake Toll Mounts; Rescue Work Continues; AIR Analysis
Oct 25 2011 // As rescue workers continued their efforts to find survivors in the debris from collapsed buildings, the death toll from Monday’s earthquake continues to rise. Local officials have said that 279 bodies have been...
AIR Updates Terrorism Insurance Model for U.S.
Oct 24 2011 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) has updated its terrorism model for the United States to reflect less frequent and lower-severity attacks based on a reassessment of the threat by a team of terrorism...
FEMA, SBA Extend Deadline for Hurricane Aid in New Jersey
Oct 23 2011 // New Jersey residents and businesses battered by Hurricane Irene will now have more time to seek federal aid to help cover their losses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration...
Fitch Affirms California Earthquake Authority’s ‘A’ Ratings
Oct 21 2011 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the “A” rating on California Earthquake Authority’s outstanding fixed-rate revenue bonds, which mature on July 1, 2016, citing the organization’s ability to cover losses...
Louisiana’s Sen. Landrieu Announces $33.9M for Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Oct 21 2011 // U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., has announced more than $33.9 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to repair New Orleans’ damaged water...
Chubb Profit Falls in Q3
Oct 21 2011 // The Chubb Corp. reported that net income in the third quarter of 2011 was $298 million compared to $572 million in the third quarter of 2010. Net income per share declined to $1.04 from $1.80. Operating income was $252...
ShakeOut in West May Raise Disaster Awareness
Oct 20 2011 // Today may be a good day to sell disaster insurance in the Western United States. A massive earthquake drill set for 10:20 a.m. PDT today is designed to raise awareness of the disasters that can be posed by a massive...
Florida Hurricane Fund Has $3.2 Billion Shortfall
Oct 20 2011 // Florida’s hurricane fund is confronting a potential $3.2 billion shortfall, financial experts said in a new estimate of the money available to the pool intended to help insurers make disaster payments. The fund was...
