Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Aon Benfield Launches First Pan-Asian Typhoon Model
Jul 19 2010 // Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development center, has launched the first fully functional Asian typhoon model to span the continent. “The new model will help insurers analyze the...
China Braces for Typhoon Conson; Vietnam Evacuates Thousands
Jul 16 2010 // Southern China on Friday battened down to await the arrival of Typhoon Conson, gathering strength over the South China Sea, and Vietnam deployed nearly 3,000 troops to areas in the path of the storm. Swollen rivers and...
Gale Force Winds Needed to Re-Inflate Insurance Share Prices
Jul 16 2010 // Nobody wishes for a natural disaster, but there’s nothing like a big U.S. hurricane to revitalize shares in property and casualty insurers, currently weighed down by persistently weak insurance prices. Nine analysts...
Ohio Tornadoes Cost Home, Business Owners $22M
Jul 16 2010 // The insurance industry says a storm and tornadoes that ripped through northwest Ohio in early June caused at least $22.1 million in damage for homeowners and business owners. The totals by the Ohio Insurance Institute...
Hanover Estimates $85 Million Catastrophe Loss for Q2
Jul 14 2010 // Worcester, Mass.-based The Hanover estimated its pre-tax losses resulting from catastrophe events in the second quarter of 2010 to be approximately $85 million. The majority of the losses were associated with six...
Munich Re Provides $96 Million Cat Bond to Mass. Property Association
Jul 12 2010 // Munich Re has provided the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MPIUA) with a $ 96 million catastrophe bond issuance that “transfers hurricane risk in Massachusetts to the capital...
Massachusetts Fair Plan Gets $96M Catastrophe Bond
Jul 12 2010 // The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MPIUA) has received a $96 million catastrophe bond issuance that transfers hurricane risk in Massachusetts to the capital markets, a number of reinsurers...
First Half 2010 Catastrophe Losses Double Average at $22 Billion
Jul 8 2010 // A report from Munich Re (www.munichre.com) notes that the first half of 2010 was “marked by an exceptionally large number of natural catastrophes and the scale of the losses they caused.” The reinsurer recorded...
Actuarially Sound Property Rates Remain Elusive Along Texas Coast
Jul 7 2010 // Insurance company interests have long complained that the state-backed Texas Windstorm Insurance Association charges rates that are not actuarially sound for the risks it insures, making it impossible for private insurers...
New Storm Brewing in Gulf
Jul 6 2010 // An area of disturbed weather over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico could strengthen into a tropical storm later this week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Monday. If it revs up to cyclone force, the system would...
WMO Foresees La Nina in Pacific this Year
Jul 6 2010 // La Nina is likely to cool the tropical Pacific in coming months, a phenomenon which usually causes stronger monsoons across Asia and eastern Australia, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday. The...
Wortman Retiring as CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Jul 6 2010 // John Wortman, CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens), the state’s property insurance of last resort, has announced plans to retire. “John Wortman has been a tremendous asset to Louisiana...
Price Scare
Jul 5 2010 // Seven years and running, the soft market shows few signs of loosening its grip on commercial insurance pricing, according to a recent industry study. Average premiums in every line tracked by the RIMS Benchmark Survey fell...
Actuarially Sound Rates Remain Elusive Along Texas Gulf Coast
Jul 5 2010 // Insurance company interests have long held that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association charges rates that are not actuarially sound for the risks it insures, making it impossible for private insurers to compete for...
Report IDs Pacific Northwest as ‘Mega-Earthquake’ Hotspot
Jul 5 2010 // The Pacific Northwest is one of five regions in the world most likely to see a mega-earthquake, according to a new report. “When The Earth Moves: Mega-Earthquakes To Come?” published by Aon Benfield in...
West Faces High Wildfire Potential
Jul 5 2010 // Arizona Wildfire Incurs $1.8 Million in Claims An Arizona wildfire that has burned 15,075 acres and incurred $6.9 million in claims to date might be the first example of the fire risks the Western United States are facing...
Caribbean Countries Renew Hurricane, Earthquake Coverage
Jul 2 2010 // All sixteen members of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF – www.ccrif.org) have renewed their policies for hurricane and earthquake coverage for the 2010/11 year beginning on June first, the...
Aon Reports Declines in July Reinsurance Renewal Rates
Jul 2 2010 // Aon Benfield has released its July first “Renewals Update” report, which indicates that “rates continue to decline in all major regions without significant catastrophe loss activity in the last 12...
AIR Estimates Mexico’s Hurricane Alex Insured Loss under $200 Million
Jul 2 2010 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insurable losses (losses from properties that are eligible for insurance, whether or not they are actually insured) from Hurricane Alex are not expected to exceed...
Hurricane Alex Weakens to Tropical Storm
Jul 1 2010 // Hurricane Alex weakened to a tropical storm Thursday as it moved further inland over northeastern Mexico, dumping heavy rains that flooded cities but sparing U.S. oil facilities near its path. Rain from the first named...
