Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Storms That Shatter Lives Hold Lessons for Insurers
May 16 2011 // It used to be the low-frequency, high-severity events that kept U.S. property insurance producers, carriers, and reinsurers up at night. These big Cats have become part of our collective history – Hurricanes Andrew,...
Business Losses Due to ‘Action’ by Civil Authorities: When Is There Coverage?
May 16 2011 // Virtually all insurance policies contain provisions and exclusions dealing with events that most insureds consider so remote and unlikely that they rarely give any thought to their possible occurrence, much less what...
How to Prevent E&O Lawsuits for Black Swan Risks
May 16 2011 // The timeless maxim- “think globally, act locally” – coined in 1915 by social activist Patrick Geddes, underscores the vital importance for insurance agents to really think through the scope of their...
EQECAT Estimates Spain Quake Insured Losses at Maximum $100 Million
May 13 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has released a “CatWatch update” on the market loss estimate for the May 11 earthquake near Lorca, Spain, which indicates that, based on the latest information available,...
Lloyd’s Estimates Losses from Q1 Disasters at $3.8 Billion
May 13 2011 // After careful calculation Lloyd’s has announced its estimated net claims before tax from the earthquakes this year in Japan and New Zealand and the January 2011 floods in Australia. The current net estimates were...
Business Losses Due to Civil Authority Action: When Is There Coverage?
May 12 2011 // Virtually all insurance policies contain provisions and exclusions dealing with events that most insureds consider so remote and unlikely that they rarely give any thought to their possible occurrence, much less what...
Arkansas Tornado Count Already Twice That of Typical Year
May 12 2011 // Arkansas has seen 59 tornadoes so far this year, a number more than twice what the state sees in a typical year. There also have been 22 weather-related deaths. The warning coordination meteorologist at the National...
Allstate Reports $1.4 Billion in April Storm Losses
May 12 2011 // The Allstate Corp. today announced $1.4 billion in estimated catastrophe losses for the month of April. The estimated April catastrophe losses total about $1.37 billion for the Allstate brand and about $30 million for...
April Tornadoes Likely to be Alabama’s Costliest Ever Disaster
May 12 2011 // The April 27 tornado outbreak will likely end up being Alabama’s most costly natural disaster. Gov. Robert Bentley and state Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling said the catastrophe modeling company AIR Worldwide...
Earthquakes Hit Southern Spain; At Least 8 Dead
May 12 2011 // Two earthquakes, the first measured at magnitude 4.4, and the second a much stronger tremor measured at magnitude 5.2, struck Southern Spain near the city of Lorca late Wednesday afternoon at 6:47 PM, local time. At least...
Distant Earthquakes Can Affect San Andreas Fault
May 11 2011 // Researchers examining the San Andreas Fault in central California have found evidence that distant earthquakes can trigger episodes of accelerated — but still very slow — slip motion, deep on the fault. While a...
Alabama Offices to Replace Drivers’ Licenses Lost in Tornadoes
May 11 2011 // The state Department of Public Safety is opening offices in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham to help Alabamians whose driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards were lost in the tornadoes April 27. The offices...
Risky Business: Insurance Industry Entering ‘New Era’ of Catastrophes
May 10 2011 // Given the recent flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes, it appears the number of catastrophic events that inflict mass casualties and severe economic losses has increased — so much so that Dr. Erwann Michel-Kerjan,...
P/C Insurers Cautious About Adopting New RMS Hurricane Model
May 10 2011 // Property/casualty insurers appear to be in no rush to adopt a controversial revised catastrophe model that dramatically raises certain estimates of potential hurricane losses in the country. California-based modeling firm...
P/C Insurer Failures in 2010 Unrelated to Catastrophes: A.M Best
May 10 2011 // The majority of the 11 financially impaired property/casualty companies in 2010 got into trouble primarily due to deficient loss reserves and inadequate pricing. None of the 2010 impairments were directly attributable to...
EQECAT Raises Japan Quake/Tsunami Loss Estimates to $22-$39 Billion
May 10 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has updated its market loss estimate of $12-$25 billion, issued on March 16, for the March 11 M9 Tohoku Earthquake. EQECAT said that, based on the latest information available, it is...
AIR Estimates Recent Severe Storm Losses at $5.5B
May 9 2011 // Insured loss estimates from the storms that hit the Southern and Southeastern United States in late April total between $3.7 billion and $5.5 billion, says catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide. Insured losses account...
Aon Benfield: Cat Losses, Solvency II Demand Better Model Evaluation
May 9 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., notes that it will be “highlighting how recent natural hazards – coupled with Solvency II – have fuelled demand for more...
AIG Reports $1.5B Net Income Loss in Q1
May 6 2011 // American International Group posted a loss from continuing operations in the first quarter as it recorded a charge of more than $3 billion related to its recapitalization and termination of its credit facility from the...
Terrorism Risks Lead Professionals to Refuse Business Trips
May 5 2011 // Growing concerns over worldwide terrorism have caused some professionals to refuse going on business trips. Half of all respondents to a new survey reported they would refuse a business trip because of concerns related to...
