Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tornado Shelter Legislation Killed in Oklahoma Senate
May 12 2010 // The Oklahoma Senate has killed a bill that would have required owners of mobile and RV parks to provide tenants with a plan to seek shelter. The bill’s author, State Rep. Pat Ownbey, praised a mobile home park south...
5 Thought Dead in Oklahoma, Dozens Injured as Tornadoes Hit Plains
May 12 2010 // Violent storms that tore through the southern Plains on May 10 killed five people and injured dozens more, leaving behind flattened homes, toppled semitrailers and downed power lines. Several tornadoes were reported in...
Willis Research Warns of Costly Consequences of Volcanic Eruptions
May 12 2010 // The world’s attention has been focused on the plumes of ash that continue to rise into the sky from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The microscopic grit in the ash cloud poses an ongoing threat to...
North Carolina Wind Pool Gets Extra Protection with $305M Cat Bond
May 11 2010 // North Carolina’s insurance pool for coastal properties now has an extra financial cushion in case a major hurricane strikes. Risk specialist Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC, and GC Securities, announced the completion...
Munich Re Posts $633 Million Q1 Profit Despite Nat Cat Losses
May 10 2010 // Munich Re achieved a consolidated profit of €485 million ($633 million) in the first quarter of 2010, slightly ahead of the €437 million ($571 million) in the same period last year. The earnings bulletin...
ABI Advises Travelers After Latest Volcano Ash Cloud Disrupts Flights
May 10 2010 // Heightened eruptions from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused periodic closures of a number of European airports, as flights were cancelled, delayed or rerouted. Transatlantic air traffic between Europe and the...
Busy Wildfire Season Predicted for Wyoming
May 7 2010 // National fire officials say northwest Wyoming could see more wildfires this summer after a season of light snowfall. The National Interagency Fire Center said the light winter in the region means drier fuels in the summer...
Swiss Re Posts $158 Million Q1 Net Income, Despite Natural Catastrophes
May 6 2010 // Swiss Re reported net income of $158 million for the first quarter of 2010, a successful result given the “high natural catastrophe losses in the first quarter.” Swiss Re also noted that the “estimated...
Gulf Coast Oil Spill Compared to Category 5 Hurricane
May 4 2010 // What makes an oil spill really bad? Most of the ingredients for it are now blending in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts tick off the essentials: A relentless flow of oil from under the sea; a type of crude that mixes easily...
California Earthquake Fault Activity Map Shows 50 Additional Fault Lines
May 3 2010 // California geology officials have released an updated state seismic activity map that they hope will improve earthquake preparedness and construction decisions.The map, which had not been updated since 1994, includes more...
Price Scare
May 3 2010 // Seven years and running, the soft market shows few signs of loosening its grip on commercial insurance pricing, according to a new industry study. Average premiums in every line tracked by the RIMS Benchmark Survey fell in...
Who’s In the Path of 2010 Hurricane Season?
May 3 2010 // The North Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November 30. Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau highlight the number of people living in areas that could be most affected by these dramatic acts of...
Price Scare
May 3 2010 // Seven years and running, the soft market shows few signs of loosening its grip on commercial insurance pricing, according to a new industry study. Average premiums in every line tracked by the RIMS Benchmark Survey fell in...
Price Scare
May 3 2010 // Seven years and running, the soft market shows few signs of loosening its grip on commercial insurance pricing, according to a new industry study. Average premiums in every line tracked by the RIMS Benchmark Survey fell in...
AIR Enhances Catastrophe Risk Model for Industrial Facilities
Apr 30 2010 // AIR Worldwide (AIR) has enhanced its catastrophe model for estimating property and business interruption losses for a wide variety of industrial facilities. “AIR conducts detailed, site-specific, engineering-based...
Everest Re Posts $22.7 Million Q1 Net Loss; Operating Loss $73.8 Million
Apr 30 2010 // The Bermuda-based Everest Re Group reported a net loss of $22.7 million, or $0.38 per common share, for the first quarter 2010, compared to net income of $108.6 million, or $1.76 per diluted common share, for the first...
ACE Posts $755 Million Q1 Net; Operating Income of $579 Million
Apr 30 2010 // ACE Limited reported from its headquarters in Zurich that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, totaled $755 Million, compared to $567 million in Q1, 2009. Net income was $2.22 per share, compared with $1.69 per...
Beyond the Flood Zone: Storm Surge Multiplies Coastal Vulnerabilities
Apr 30 2010 // “Homeowners can mitigate against wind damage, but they’re powerless, really, to do anything against storm surge,” says one researcher whose job it is to develop ways to determine the vulnerability of...
Mississippi Could Be Hit with More Severe Weather This Weekend
Apr 29 2010 // Storm-weary Mississippi residents are facing another possible round of severe weather this weekend, only days after tornadoes plowed through the state and left a wide swath of destruction. National Weather Service...
Aon Employs FAConnect Platform to Meet Facultative Chile Quake Demand
Apr 28 2010 // Aon Benfield announced that it is utilizing its “groundbreaking FAConnect placement platform to respond to client demand for expanded Chile earthquake capacity.” The system opens the way for Aon’s clients...
