Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Some evacuees in AZ, NM Return Home From Wildfires
Jun 20 2011 // Some residents evacuated because of wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico were allowed to return to their homes as firefighters battled strong winds and hot weather to try to keep more houses, dry forests and stretches of...
Alabama Governor Tackles Tornado Recovery, Home Insurance Options
Jun 20 2011 // Anyone with a suggestion or complaint about Alabama’s recovery from the deadly tornadoes in April should know that the buck stops with the governor. Gov. Robert Bentley said he’s not looking to the Federal...
Ships Tossed Ashore by Japan Tsunami Rescued
Jun 20 2011 // More than a dozen ships heaved inland by Japan’s tsunami in March sit with red bellies and propellers exposed among the demolished houses of this once-bustling fishing town, a jarring daily reminder of the...
Takeaways from a Disaster
Jun 20 2011 // It’s a sight to which native New Englanders are unaccustomed: toppled trees, boarded windows, ripped-off roofs and the general destruction left by the three tornadoes that earlier this month tore through...
Florida Reinsurance Renewals Reflect Unsettled Market
Jun 20 2011 // The Florida reinsurance renewals on June 1, 2011, experienced a wide range of outcomes as substantial catastrophe losses combined with two major catastrophe model revisions over the past 16 months led to a volatile renewal...
The Aftershocks of Vulnerable Supply Chains
Jun 20 2011 // The massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March has led to supply chain disruptions around the world, sending a wakeup call to companies that do not have viable business continuity plans in place for themselves...
Hurricane Season Could Bring Rate Relief
Jun 20 2011 // Property and casualty insurers craving respite from a long-running drop in prices eyed the start of the U.S. hurricane season on June 1 in the hope that summer windstorms will finally turn the market. The June 1 to Nov. 30...
Florida Approves RMS Hurricane Model
Jun 20 2011 // Florida’s residential property insurance market is bracing for even more volatility after the state’s modeling commission approved the use of the new Risk Management Services (RMS) catastrophe model. The...
Massachusetts Digs out After Deadly Tornadoes
Jun 20 2011 // Homeowners in western Massachusetts have filed $90 million in insurance claims for damage caused by deadly tornadoes that ravaged Springfield and several smaller communities earlier this month. The state Division of...
Massachusetts Tornado Claims Now Up to $140 Million
Jun 17 2011 // The financial toll from tornadoes that ravaged Springfield and several smaller communities has risen dramatically. The state’s Division of Insurance estimated Thursday that residents have filed 8,200 insurance claims...
Homeowners Insurance Assessments Haunt Florida’s Citizens, Officials
Jun 17 2011 // Two weeks into a new hurricane season, Florida officials are continuing to express their concerns over possible policyholder assessments by Citizens Property Insurance despite the relative financial strength of the...
Florida Drought Conditions Match Devastating 1998 Wildfire Season
Jun 17 2011 // Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said drought conditions are the same as in 1998 when wildfires devastated Florida. Putnam told Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Cabinet colleagues Thursday that drought covers 93 percent of...
Texas House Approves Windstorm Insurance Changes
Jun 17 2011 // The Texas House approved widespread changes on June 15 to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the organization that insures people who live along the coast. The House passed the bill on a 99-41 vote. The bill must...
Another Insurer, State Farm, Reports Major Spring Storm Losses
Jun 17 2011 // State Farm claim representatives said it has paid nearly $1.75 billion to its customers from the destructive storms of April and May. The total claim payments have nearly doubled in less than three weeks. Earlier this...
New Zealand Quakes Drive Insurance Market Changes
Jun 16 2011 // A string of earthquakes in New Zealand is sending tremors through the global insurance market with some companies delaying underwriting policies and others turning to capital markets to offset the risk of pile-on damage...
Allstate’s April-May Catastrophe Losses Top $2 Billion
Jun 16 2011 // Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, said it lost $2 billion in April and May from severe tornadoes and thunderstorms, nearly equaling its catastrophe losses for all of 2010. The...
Latest Christchurch Quake Caused Significant New Damage
Jun 15 2011 // Christchurch, New Zealand, still recovering from two previous earthquakes that struck in September 2010 and February 2011, was shaken by a series of strong tremors on Monday afternoon that caused significant new damage to...
FEMA Tallies Hawaii Damage from Japan Tsunami at $6.2 Million
Jun 14 2011 // Federal aid has been approved for those in Hawaii affected by tsunami waves from the March earthquake in Japan. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that so far the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 14...
Cincinnati Financial Expects Up to $290M in Storm Losses for Q2 2011
Jun 14 2011 // Cincinnati Financial Corp. reported that The Cincinnati Insurance Companies’ property casualty group expects its second quarter 2011 results to include pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, of approximately...
Record Wildfire Season Affecting Arizona, Rest of U.S.
Jun 14 2011 // As Arizona continues to battle several wildfires, every state in the country now has the potential for a wildfire, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Center said nearly every state in the U.S. has...
