Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Willis Research Network Teams to Study Quakes with Italy’s EUCENTRE
Jun 17 2008 // The Willis Research Network (WRN), part of Willis Group Holdings Limited, announced that the EUCENTRE in Pavia has joined its network to enhance the quality of the earthquake research and modeling it offers to the...
AIR’s Initial Analysis of Japanese Quake
Jun 17 2008 // Boston-based AIR Worldwide has issued a bulletin on the earthquake that struck northern Japan on Saturday, June 14 (See IJ web site – https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2008/06/16/91005.htm). The...
Insured Property Value in Hurricane-Prone States to Double in 10 Years
Jun 17 2008 // In the past three years, the insured value of properties in coastal areas of the United States continued to grow at a compound annual growth rate of just over 7 percent, according to a new report released by AIR Worldwide...
Florida Task Force Issues Final Report on Citizens’ Claims Handling
Jun 16 2008 // The Task Force on Citizens Property Insurance Claims Handling and Resolution, created during the 2007 Legislative Special Session, issued its third and final report. In addition to the June 11 submission, the task force...
Hurricane Forecasts Have Limited Value
Jun 16 2008 // They May Help the Public Think About Upcoming Storms But Forecasts Have Been Largely Misused by National Media, Says One Expert Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow deep in the Rocky Mountains to...
Death Toll Stands at 10 in Aftermath of Midwest Tornadoes, Flooding
Jun 16 2008 // The death toll now stands at 10 in the Midwest as tornadoes, severe thunder storms and flooding hit Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin beginning June 6. States battled tornadoes that touched down in multiple areas, heavy...
Hurricane Forecasts Have Limited Value for Planners, Insurers
Jun 16 2008 // They May Help the Public Think About Upcoming Storms But Forecasts Have Been Largely Misused by National Media, Says One Expert Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow deep in the Rocky Mountains to...
North Carolina Wildfire Could Burn for Months
Jun 16 2008 // Fire officials warned people living near a massive wildfire at a federal wildlife refuge in eastern North Carolina that the blaze could smolder for months in the peat-filled soil. The fire burned about 30,000 acres in and...
Cost of Claims From Hailstorms in Oklahoma Could Top $20M
Jun 16 2008 // Hail damage claims from storms that hit Oklahoma in early June could easily top $20 million, an insurance industry source says, matching the cost of a similar storm in April. Meanwhile, nearly 1,260 electric company...
Hurricane Forecasts Have Limited Value
Jun 16 2008 // They May Help the Public Think About Upcoming Storms But Forecasts Have Been Largely Misused by National Media, Says One Expert Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow deep in the Rocky Mountains to...
Weather Is a Big Deal in South Central States
Jun 16 2008 // Well before the June 1 start of hurricane season claims costs from weather related damages were on a steady climb across the South Central states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. Late May, early June hailstorms...
Good Time to Lock in Property Insurance Pricing, Advise Brokers
Jun 16 2008 // Science and technology are converging with risk management to help insurers negotiate the current hurricane season such that it’s now possible to use short-term hurricane forecasts — as few as 10 days out...
Swiss Re Study Analyzes Rising Disaster Costs; Role of Risk Transfers
Jun 13 2008 // A new study from Swiss Re examines the rising impact of natural disasters, which is “driving up the cost of disaster relief and reconstruction for the public sector, especially in developing countries where insurance...
North Carolina Holds its Largest Hurricane Evacuation Exercise
Jun 13 2008 // Lenoir Community College in Kinston hosted North Carolina’s largest hurricane evacuation exercise this year. The eastern North Carolina town suffered through hurricanes Fran and Floyd in the 1990s. The exercise,...
Northern California Wildfires Forces Hundreds to Flee Homes
Jun 13 2008 // Firefighters struggled to gain control of a series of wind-driven wildfires burning across Northern California, including a raging forest fire that forced hundreds to flee their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The...
Louisiana House OKs Bill on Regional Storm Deductibles
Jun 12 2008 // Insurance companies should be allowed to adjust their so-called “named storm” deductibles on homeowner policies, depending on properties’ distance from the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico, according to a...
Wisconsin Communities Sign Up for Terrorism Insurance
Jun 12 2008 // Communities across the country and some in Wisconsin have signed up for domestic terrorism insurance. Local leaders say that while the likelihood of a terrorist attack is low, it’s still an insurance policy that...
Tornado Hits Iowa Boy Scout Camp, 4 Killed, 48 Seriously Injured
Jun 12 2008 // Adding insult to already enough injury–Iowa was hit again on June 11 with another round of deadly storms. This tornado roared through a remote camp area hitting the Little Sioux Boy Scout camp in Western Iowa....
RMS To Offer Catastrophe Updates Online
Jun 12 2008 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched an initiative to keep businesses informed of the impact of catastrophic events by making its expert analysis publicly available on its Web site. The RMS Cat...
Rocky Mountain Insurance Asssociation Cautions Against Scams Following Tornado
Jun 12 2008 // Colorado consumers need to be aware of an insurance scam that appears to be operating in the aftermath of the Windsor tornado, according to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. In one case reported to the...
