Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Commissioner Declares Emergency After Wildfires
Apr 13 2009 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has declared a state of emergency to allow insurance companies to more rapidly respond to the recent Oklahoma wildfires. The declaration enables emergency adjusters to be...
UPDATE: 1 in 4 Homes Damaged by Italian Quake Says RMS
Apr 10 2009 // Risk Management Solutions’ latest bulletin on the devastating earthquake, which struck Italy on Monday, estimates that “at least one in four homes in the epicentral area of L’Aquila have been...
Wildfires Burn Tens of Thousands of Acres Across Texas
Apr 10 2009 // Smoke from wildfires burning across North and West Texas is blowing into Austin and other locations in the center of the state, and Dallas-area residents are under an air-quality warning as a result of the fires. The Texas...
Tornadoes Give Mo. Businesses Insurance, Record-Keeping Lessons
Apr 10 2009 // Businesses in Southwest Missouri learned a lot about insurance, record-keeping and personal safety from tornadoes that tore through the area last spring. In many ways, walking into Bill Lant’s feed store in Seneca,...
Much Anticipated Windstorm Insurance Debate Begins in Texas
Apr 9 2009 // Texas legislators finally have jumped into debate over how to improve the troubled windstorm insurance system that serves as a last resort for hurricane protection along much of the Gulf Coast. The House Insurance...
P/C Insurers Profitable in 2008; Take Hit From Catastrophes, Financial Crisis
Apr 9 2009 // Property/casualty insurers remained profitable in 2008 despite taking hits from several catastrophes, the recession and the ongoing financial crisis. P/C insurers earned $2.4 billion in net income after taxes in 2008, but...
AIR Reaches $10 Billion Cat Bond Modeling Milestone
Apr 7 2009 // Boston’s AIR Worldwide Corporation announced that it has provided risk modeling and analytical services for more than 10 billion dollars in insurance-linked securities since 1996 and over 56 percent of total...
Guy Carpenter: Rates Rising on U.S. Property Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 7 2009 // A new industry briefing shows reinsurance rates continuing to increase for the U.S. property-catastrophe reinsurance market for April 1, 2009 renewals. According to Guy Carpenter & Co.’s “Rates Up on...
U.S. Forecaster Lowers Atlantic Hurricane Prediction
Apr 7 2009 // Citing cooler seas and the prospect of a weak El Nino, Colorado State University’s hurricane team lowered its 2009 Atlantic forecast Tuesday to 12 tropical storms, of which six could become hurricanes. The research...
Texas Wildfire Destroys Homes; Firefighters Hurt by Smoke Inhalation
Apr 6 2009 // The Texas Forest Services says 24 firefighters have been treated for smoke inhalation from fighting Texas wildflires, near the Panhandle town of Wheeler, where four homes have been lost and an estimated 20 homes damaged in...
Cat 5 Litigation in the Forecast?
Apr 6 2009 // As 2008 Hurricane Claims Enter Court and New Season Approaches, Katrina Issues Linger The 2008 hurricane season was the sixth most active tropical storm season recorded since data collection began in 1851. Six storms made...
Alaska’s Volcano Erruptions Could Last For Months
Apr 3 2009 // Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano eruptions, which to date have included 18 explosions and the non-stop emission of gases and ash, could last for several months, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists at the...
Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake Shakes Northern California, Reveals New Fault
Apr 2 2009 // A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck near Santa Clara Valley Calif., this week near Mt. Hamilton, revealing a fault scientists did not know existed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. According to...
Florida Senate Postpones Vote on Catastrophe Funding Bill
Apr 2 2009 // A Senate committee searching for ways to improve Florida’s shaky property insurance situation and lower the state’s risk recommended borrowing money from the state retirement system to obtain some short-term...
Arizona’s Wildfire Season Poses Many Risks for Homeowners
Apr 1 2009 // As the drought in the Southwest worsens, the wildfire season in Arizona grows longer, burning more acreage and threatening private property in forested areas. “The Arizona State Forestry Division estimates more than...
Tornado May Be Cause of Destroyed Pennsylvania Trailer Homes
Mar 31 2009 // Officials in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania officials say a tornado could have cause the destruction to five trailer homes in Clay Township. Dave Wiker, the county’s emergency services shift supervisor, says three...
Alaska’s Volcano Erupts More Than 10 Times
Mar 31 2009 // Mount Redoubt Volcano, 106 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, erupted explosively more than 10 times this week, sending ash skyrocketing as high as 65,000 feet into the air. The eruption of Redoubt poses a threat to...
2 Small Eruptions Occur at Alaska Volcano
Mar 27 2009 // Alaska’s Mount Redoubt Volcano erupted at least twice Wednesday, March 25, as officials from a pipeline company assessed conditions at a nearby oil storage facility to determine whether to remove its contents. The...
Texas Independent Agents Urge Adequate Windstorm Funding
Mar 27 2009 // Since funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has become a top priority for the Texas Legislature, statewide lawmakers have debated several solutions that will impact policyholders in Texas, according...
EU Contributes $17 Million to Caribbean Cat Risk Insurance Facility
Mar 26 2009 // The European Union has joined the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility’s (CCRIF) 16 member governments – Canada, the World Bank, the United Kingdom, Bermuda, Ireland, France and the Caribbean...
