Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Protective Insurance, Paladin Catastrophe Enter Agreement
Oct 1 2008 // Indianapolis-based Baldwin & Lyons, Inc. announced on October 1 that its subsidiary, Protective Insurance Co., has entered into an agreement with Paladin Catastrophe Management to produce casualty clash and...
AIR Estimates China Typhoon Insured Losses at $100 to $250 Million
Sep 29 2008 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses to onshore properties in China from both wind and precipitation-induced flooding from Typhoon Hagupit will be between $100 million and $250...
Ohio Wind Storm Damage Estimates Could Top $500 Million
Sep 29 2008 // Damage caused by the wind storm that ripped across Ohio Sept. 14 could hit $500 million or higher, making it one of the state’s costliest natural disasters. The Ohio Insurance Institute says $500 million is a...
Florida Researchers Deploy New Hurricane Data Weather Balloons
Sep 29 2008 // A fleet of special balloons released over South Florida may soon help hurricane forecasters better predict the path of storms. But at a cost of up to $2,000 each, these aren’t your average birthday party...
Too Early to Tell if Kentucky Windstorm will Increase Insurance Rates
Sep 24 2008 // The Kentucky Office of Insurance says it’s too early to tell if the severe winds caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike will result in insurance rate hikes. The Courier-Journal reported insurers have received tens...
PartnerRe Ike Claims at $175-$200 Million; Lowers Gustav Estimates
Sep 24 2008 // Bermuda’s PartnerRe Ltd. announced that its early estimate of claims relating to its exposure to Hurricane Ike is currently between $175-$210 million on a pre-tax basis, net of reinstatement premiums. The bulletin...
Hurricane Gustav Damage in Alexandria, La., Tops $25M
Sep 24 2008 // Officials say Hurricane Gustav inflicted more than $25 million worth of damage in Alexandria, La., when it blew through in early September. About half of that amount came from estimated damage caused by roof collapses at...
Texas Issues Data Call to Insurers in Hurricane Ike’s Aftermath
Sep 23 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is conducting a mandatory data call for certain information related to claims in the counties of Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gregg,...
Colordo Proposal Would Require County Wildfire-Prep Plans
Sep 23 2008 // A Colorado legislative committee studying the wildfire threat in Colorado is proposing a requirement that all counties have wildfire preparedness plans. The committee also is looking to put $50 million over five years into...
Damage Costs Mount From Gustav
Sep 22 2008 // As Hurricane Ike loomed in the Gulf of Mexico, insurers and officials in Gulf Coast states were still tallying damage costs from Hurricane Gustav, which swept into Louisiana on Sept. 1. Switzerland-based global reinsurer,...
More to Come in Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season
Sep 22 2008 // The 10 tropical storms and hurricanes that ripped through the Atlantic and Caribbean during this busy hurricane season savaged Haiti, Cuba and the U.S. Gulf coast, and conditions are now ripe for more. Residents of the...
Organizations Opposed to U.S. Insurance Tax Bill Issue Statement
Sep 22 2008 // The Coalition for Competitive Insurance Rates, which groups a number of organizations that oppose to the latest attempt to amend U.S. tax laws on foreign insurers, has issued a bulletin outlining the reasons why they...
Defending Properties Against Natural Catastrophes
Sep 22 2008 // Build Smart With Passive Protection Systems, Safety Institute CEO Says To hear Julie Rochman tell it, she’d like every community in the United States to be resilient in the face of natural disasters. Rochman,...
Hurricane and Political Seasons Stir Up National Cat Plan Proposals
Sep 22 2008 // As Losses Mount for Insurers, More Proposals for a National Solution Emerge Neither Gustav nor Ike walloped the property/casualty insurance industry the way Katrina did but there is still concern in insurance and...
Study Finds Economic Costs of Federal Cat Legislation Significant
Sep 22 2008 // Taxpayers In At Least 20 States Could Face Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Burden Natural catastrophe legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and pending in the U.S. Senate would create a multi-billion dollar...
Time for Barry and Shenise
Sep 22 2008 // Astute observers of recent political history may recall the story of Harry and Louise — the fictional couple created by a health insurance industry lobbying group in 1994. In political television ads at the time, the...
How Agents Prepared and Fared as Gustav Hit Gulf States
Sep 22 2008 // On the morning of Sept. 1, Gustav’s eye made landfall on the Louisiana coast just shy of Category 3 status. Experts estimate Gustav caused about $8 billion to $10 billion in insured damage. On Aug. 29 as Hurricane...
Early Estimates of Ike Damage: $6B to $18B
Sep 22 2008 // The Real Numbers Won’t be Known for Weeks Estimates of insured damage from Hurricane Ike vary widely — from $8 billion to $16 billion, according to several catastrophe risk modeling firms, but Texas Insurance...
Hurricane Ike: We’re All Connected
Sep 22 2008 // When it was all over, six people were dead, expressways remained flooded in every direction, 1,000 people were evacuated, schools closed and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagoevich had declared seven counties in Illinois as emergency...
Texas, Louisiana Enact Emergency Rules for Hurricane Relief
Sep 22 2008 // Insurance regulators in both Texas and Louisiana have enacted emergency rules aimed at providing relief for insurance consumers in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued...
