Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Wildfire Called Arson
Sep 4 2009 // As of early Friday morning, the Station wildfire that is burning through the hills above Los Angeles was about 40 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. Fire officials...
Some State-Run Property Insurance Plans in Precarious Financial Situation
Sep 4 2009 // As the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season enters its peak period, the finances of a number of residual market property plans in hurricane-exposed states are on shaky ground. The credit crunch and prolonged economic downturn...
Louisiana Commissioner: Don’t Raise Taxes on Reinsurers
Sep 3 2009 // Now that the hurricane season is well underway, Louisianans remember when Katrina came ashore, late in August 2005, with a storm surge that eventually flooded New Orleans and leveled many Gulf Coast towns, costing more...
Tropical Storm Erika ‘Remains Disorganized’ NHC Reports
Sep 3 2009 // According to the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 a.m. AST bulletin, the center of “poorly-organized tropical storm Erika” was located about 85 miles, 140 kms, west of Guadeloupe and about 260 miles, 420...
Hurricane Jimena Swirls Past Southern Baja Resorts
Sep 3 2009 // Hurricane Jimena weakened to a Category 2 storm as it bore down on the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Jimena’s maximum sustained winds decreased late Tuesday to near 110 mph (175 kph) and the...
AIR Analyzes Strong Indonesian Quake
Sep 3 2009 // A major earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s main island of Java at 2:55 p.m. local time (07:55 UTC) on Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) originally issued a preliminary magnitude estimate of 7.4...
Florida Hurricane, Pension Funds Boosted By Financial Markets Upswing
Sep 3 2009 // Florida’s public employee pension and hurricane catastrophe funds are benefiting from an upswing in the financial markets, state investment managers said earlier this week. The State Board of Administration received...
‘Disorganized’ Tropical Storm Erika Forms in the Atlantic
Sep 2 2009 // As of 5:00 a.m. AST, Tropical Storm Erika was located about 280 miles, 455 kms, east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. The National Hurricane Center in Miami described the storm as “disorganized” with...
Some Texas Windstorm Policyholders Must Buy Flood Coverage
Sep 1 2009 // Some property owners in Texas coastal counties that seek wind insurance coverage from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association will be required to buy flood insurance equal to at least 90 percent of the property’s...
UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute to Host Conference on Terrorism
Aug 31 2009 // The UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute announced that its London Market faculty will hold a second “Counter Terrorist Workshop” in conjunction with the City of London Police on November 10. The CII said...
California Wildfires Threaten Thousands of Homes
Aug 31 2009 // A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles has surged in every direction, going in a single day from a modest threat to a danger to some 10,000 homes. The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday,...
Progress Celebrated on Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Aug 31 2009 // Gulf Coast officials and residents marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a mix of solemn remembrances and celebrations of how far the region has come in its recovery from the storm’s devastation. In...
UPDATE: Jimena ‘Extremely Dangerous Hurricane’ Says NHC
Aug 31 2009 // As Hurricane Jimena nears the coast of Baja California, Mexico is bracing for the onslaught. The National Hurricane Center in Miami described the storm as “extremely dangerous,” with maximum sustained winds...
Canada’s Insurers Urge Ontario Residents to Check Tornado Coverage
Aug 28 2009 // Canada’s home, car and business insurers have urged residents affected by tornadoes that recently tore through southern Ontario to check their homeowner’s policy and contact their insurance representative as...
Tropical Storm Danny Weakens; East Coast Likely Spared Hurricane
Aug 28 2009 // Tropical Storm Danny weakened in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday and was no longer expected to become a hurricane, but it edged closer to the U.S. coast on a path that could take it to Canada’s Atlantic provinces by...
Golfers Help South Carolina Wildfire Victims Who Lacked Insurance
Aug 28 2009 // Golfers teed off on the South Carolina coast to help the victims of a wildfire that scorched hundreds of acres earlier this year. Thursday’s pro-am at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach was held to...
Multiple Earthquakes Shake Central Oklahoma in 24 Hours
Aug 28 2009 // At least 10 minor earthquakes have shaken central Oklahoma in the past 24 to 36 hours, the most recent occurring early in the morning on Aug. 28, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. This morning’st tremor...
Florida’s Tower Hill Insurance Downgraded by A.M. Best; Tower Hill Responds
Aug 27 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to D (Poor) from B (Fair) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “c” from “bb” of Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Co., Tower Hill Prime...
Lloyd’s Explores Terrorism/Internet Threats
Aug 27 2009 // Politico-social trends are rarely static; they evolve over time. Terrorism is no exception. An article on the Lloyd’s of London web site (www.lloyds.com) notes that “today’s extremists are just as intent...
Tropical Storm Danny, Expected to Become Hurricane, Heads Northeast
Aug 27 2009 // The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Danny was located about 575 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as of 8 a.m. EDT (Noon GMT) Thursday and packing winds near 60 miles per...
