Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Miami Condo Association Sues QBE Insurance Over Hurricane Claims
Nov 25 2009 // A Miami condominium association is suing its insurer, QBE Insurance Corp., and its Florida general managing agent, for more than $500 million in damages, claiming bad faith and deception in handling hurricane...
Colorado Researchers Admit Missing Hurricane Prediction
Nov 24 2009 // Colorado-based weather researchers say three hurricanes formed in the Atlantic this year, two fewer than they predicted before the season and one less than their August update called for. Colorado State University...
Small Earthquake Shakes Western Maine
Nov 20 2009 // The New England Seismic Network says a small earthquake shook parts of western Maine early Thursday morning. According to Weston Observatory at Boston College, the earthquake happened at 2 a.m. and had a magnitude of...
Hawaii Unscathed by Hurricane Season
Nov 19 2009 // Hawaii is escaping the 2009 hurricane season unscathed unless a last-minute storm strikes. There are about two weeks remaining in this year’s hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30. But officials at the Central Pacific...
Munich Re America Offers ‘Local’ Nat Cat Frequency Coverage
Nov 18 2009 // Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. announced that it now offers a reinsurance product for insurance companies impacted by rising insured losses from ‘local’ natural catastrophes. “The Nat Cat Frequency...
Oregon Bridges Unsafe from Earthquakes
Nov 18 2009 // The outlook is not good for Oregon bridges in a major earthquake. A study released Monday concludes that U.S. Highway 101 on the coast would be impassable, all connections from the coast to the Willamette Valley would be...
California Commissioner Touts Wildfire Payment Recoveries
Nov 16 2009 // On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Sayre, Tea and Freeway Fires in Southern California, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced in a press statement Friday that the California Department of Insurance...
States Back Federal Role in Insuring Natural Catastrophes
Nov 15 2009 // After Decades of Discussion, States Adopt 3-Tired Plan Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of Insurance...
Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan
Nov 15 2009 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote The private insurance industry alone ‘cannot be expected to provide comprehensive catastrophe coverage without adequate financial backstops for the most...
Best Upgrades Hannover Re (Bermuda) Credit Rating; Affirms ‘A’ Financial Rating
Nov 12 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of Hannover Re (Bermuda) Ltd. with stable...
Tropical Storm Ida Pounds Gulf States with High Winds, Heavy Rains
Nov 10 2009 // A weakening Tropical Storm Ida lashed the U.S. Gulf Coast with drenching rain and high surf Tuesday as it moved ashore after shutting down almost 30 percent of Gulf of Mexico energy production. Ida, once a Category 2...
Hurricane Ida Kills 124 in El Salvador; Heading for Gulf Oil Fields and U.S.
Nov 9 2009 // Hurricane Ida headed toward oil and gas facilities in the central Gulf of Mexico on Monday on a path to the U.S. Gulf Coast after killing 124 people in El Salvador following floods and mudslides. U.S. oil companies were...
Hurricane Ida Shuts Gulf Refineries; Downgraded to Tropical Storm
Nov 9 2009 // Energy companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico shut in oil and natural gas production and a major gas hub was closed on Monday as Hurricane Ida spun toward the region. The Independence natural gas hub — the largest...
Late Season Hurricane Hits Nicaragua
Nov 6 2009 // According to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide and the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hurricane Ida made landfall in eastern Nicaragua on Thursday morning, causing damage to homes and knocking out power to...
Allstate Reports Q3 Profit
Nov 6 2009 // Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, reported a third qarter profit Wednesday, the improvement from a year ago loss made possible by lower catastrophe and investment losses. Net income...
ABI Teams with AIR, Met Office in Study of Climate Change Flood Costs
Nov 4 2009 // The Association of British Insurers is increasingly concerned that “rising global temperatures will put the heat on insurance as flood costs rise.” This would in turn “lead to more expensive and harder to...
The Hartford Reports 3Q Loss
Nov 4 2009 // The Hartford Financial Services Group reported a third quarter net loss of $220 million, compared with a net loss of $2.6 billion in the year-ago period. Written premiums for The Hartford’s property/casualty...
At Least 14 Reported Dead as Typhoon Mirinae Lashes Philippines
Nov 2 2009 // Typhoon Mirinae has battered the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces, still reeling from recent flooding, killing at least 14 people [IJ Note — later reports have increased the death toll to 24] and...
Q3 Profit Rises at CNA; CEO Motamed Sees ‘Encouraging’ Rate Trends
Nov 2 2009 // CNA Financial Corp.’s third quarter 2009 results included net operating income of $331 million and net income of $263 million along with a combined ratio for property/ casualty operations of 101.0%. Net operating...
San Diego Power Company Pays Wildfire Restitution
Nov 2 2009 // San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications have agreed to pay $17 million to settle claims by state investigators that poor maintenance led to three huge wildfires in 2007. The settlement, announced Friday, comes...
