Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Analysts Debate Outlook for Reinsurance Stocks
Jun 23 2011 // With reinsurance stocks trading below book value, equity analysts basically agree on the factors affecting these stocks but differ on their outlook on the sector. Property/casualty insurance analysts Meyer Shields, analyst...
Florida Agents’ Leader Grady Cites Progress, Disappointments on Reform
Jun 23 2011 // For those in the industry, Florida’s recent legislative session was a long march as they tried to navigate through a process that initially promised much in the form of a new governor and strong pro-business...
Florida Counties Ban Fireworks Due to Wildfire Risk
Jun 23 2011 // Drought conditions and rampant wildfires have forced 29 Florida counties to ban open fires. And for 22 of those counties, the ban covers fireworks. The Florida Division of Forestry said that more than 440 active wildfires...
Wildfires Continue to Plague Arizona, New Mexico
Jun 22 2011 // Fourteen homes have been destroyed in Arizona yesterday, after the Monument Fire burning near Sierra Vista went south into neighborhoods. All told, there are six fires burning in Arizona, and five in New Mexico. As of June...
P/C Insurers’ Profits Fell in Q1 as Underwriting Losses Grew
Jun 22 2011 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes dropped to $7.8 billion in first-quarter 2011 from $8.9 billion in first-quarter 2010, with insurers’ annualized rate of return on average...
Wildfires Burn 3 Dozen Homes Across Texas
Jun 21 2011 // Firefighters in Texas are attempting to contain more wildfires after several blazes broke out across the state and destroyed more than three dozen homes. Hundreds of people were told to evacuate June 19 after fires swept...
Hurricane Beatriz Hits Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Jun 21 2011 // Hurricane Beatriz bore down on Mexico’s Pacific coast Tuesday, putting tourist areas and major ports on alert for heavy rainfall and flash floods, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The eye of the hurricane was...
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...
