Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Payments Fall Short of Repair Costs after Tennessee Tornado
Jul 25 2008 // Tennessee officials razed fairgrounds bleachers damaged by a tornado in Clarksville, Tennessee. Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Cowling said the tornado on May 3 moved parts of the concrete bleachers 2 inches. A...
Threat of Flooding Persists After Dolly Downgrades to Tropical Storm
Jul 25 2008 // Hurricane Dolly barreled into South Texas on Wednesday, July 23 lashing the coast with winds up to 100 mph (161 kph) and dumping heavy rain that flooded some low-lying areas but spared levees along the heavily populated...
Coastal Texas Begins Clean-up After Hurricane Dolly
Jul 25 2008 // Residents in south Texas on the coast have begun the tough job of cleaning up at Hurricane Dolly slammed into the coast on Wednesday, July 23. On Thursday power lines were still down, but according to news reports, many...
Chubb Q2 Premiums Flat; Cat Losses Adversely Impact Financial Results
Jul 25 2008 // Catastrophe losses in the second quarter adversely impacted financial results for The Chubb Corp., which reported net income in the second quarter of 2008 fell $213 million over the same time period in 2007, or $469...
Utah Geologists Look for Earthquake Fault Clues
Jul 25 2008 // Utah State University geologists say a close look at a deep trench along the East Cache Fault has uncovered some good news: There’s no evidence of recent earthquakes along that section of the fault. USU geology...
Flooding Feared Along U.S.-Texas Border from Hurricane Dolly
Jul 24 2008 // After Hurricane Dolly unleashed a fury of damaging winds and wicked rain on the U.S.-Mexico coastline and diminished to a tropical storm, widespread flooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley became the top concern...
Travelers Weathers Q2 Catastrophe Losses; Combined Ratio at 89%
Jul 23 2008 // The Travelers Companies, Inc. reported net income of $942 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, compared to $1.254 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2007. Operating income in the current quarter was $918...
Texas, Mexico Prepare for Dolly, Residents Board Up, Some Evacuate
Jul 23 2008 // Residents along the Texas-Mexico border kept a watchful eye on Tropical Storm Dolly, stocking up on plywood, generators and flashlights as forecasters predicted the storm would strengthen into a hurricane by later...
FEMA Planning Earthquake Forum in Indiana
Jul 23 2008 // One of two federal government-sponsored forums in Midwestern cities to help businesses prepare for a major earthquake will be held in Evansville. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says the goal of the...
Texas Windstorm Pool: No Policies Issued With Hurricane in the Gulf
Jul 22 2008 // With Tropical Storm Dolly roiling it’s way into probable hurricane status, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association issued a reminder to agents that once a “hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico or is within the...
Strong Quake Shake Northern Japan Coast But No Tsunami Danger
Jul 22 2008 // A strong earthquake with a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast Monday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the nation’s weather agency said. The quake occurred at 8:30 p.m., about 20...
Tornado Threats Loom Large as Flood Waters Recede
Jul 21 2008 // Much has been written in the last six weeks about the 2008 Midwest Flood. Many are saying the devastation will rival the Great Flood of 1993, and that the crop damage will affect the food supply of this country. While that...
Obtaining Optimal Catastrophe Coverage
Jul 21 2008 // In the midst of hurricane season, insurance agents and brokers are reminded of the need for forward-thinking solutions that will help them obtain the best-possible catastrophe coverage for their clients. Following the 2005...
U.S. P/C Insurers’ Catastrophe Losses for Q2 Double to $6 Billion; Average Claim $5K
Jul 21 2008 // U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $6.025 billion for second quarter property losses resulting from a total of 16 catastrophes in 27 states, which is nearly double...
Midwest States High on List for Numbers of Tornadoes
Jul 21 2008 // While a rural area to the northeast of Denver, Colo., tops the nation when it comes to metropolitan areas most prone to tornadoes, Texas leads the states in the average total number of tornadoes per year in the continental...
Forecast: Tropical Storm Dolly to Become Hurricane, Hit Southern Texas
Jul 21 2008 // Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas Monday, and forecasters said they expected it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week. The storm, with sustained winds of...
Tropical Storm Cristobal Rumbles off the Carolinas
Jul 21 2008 // Tropical Storm Cristobal, the first tropical storm to menace the Southeast seaboard this hurricane season, sent outer bands of intermittent rain lashing the eastern Carolinas July 19 as forecasters predicted it could dump...
Tropical Storm Dolly Enters Gulf, Texas May Be Target
Jul 21 2008 // The National Hurricane Center reported at 11 a.m. EDT on July 21 that Tropical Storm Dolly had crossed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and entered the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane watch was issued for the Texas coast from...
Washington Offers Assistance to Homeowners Hit by Wildfires
Jul 18 2008 // As wildfires erupt across Eastern Washington, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler urges homeowners needing help with their insurance claims to call the Insurance Consumer Hotline (800-562-6900). “Most...
Okla. City to Add Telephones as Tools for Tornado Warnings
Jul 18 2008 // In addition to blaring sirens and screeching weather-radio alerts, residents in Glenpool, Okla., will now have another way of learning about approaching tornadoes: they will get a telephone call. The City Council has...
