Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Tools Available For Pricing Winter Storm and Fire Risk
Jan 13 2008 // While winter storms do not attract the attention of mega-catastrophes such as hurricanes and earthquakes, these smaller events can add up to impact insurers’ bottom lines. However, insurers can now avail themselves...
Stronger Earthquake Code Rules For Ark. On Hold
Jan 13 2008 // An Arkansas legislative committee in early January 2008 put off a review of the state’s building code after lawmakers questioned costs related to making structures withstand earthquakes that come once every 2,500...
Zero Consumer Complaints From Hurricane Humberto Claims
Jan 13 2008 // No consumer complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in response to the insurance industry’s handling of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from...
New Tools Can Help Underwrite, Price Winter Storm and Fire Risk
Jan 13 2008 // While winter storms do not attract the attention of mega-catastrophes such as hurricanes and earthquakes, these smaller events can add up to impact insurers’ bottom lines. However, insurers can now avail themselves...
What the Reauthorization of TRIA Means to the P/C Industry
Jan 13 2008 // On Dec. 26, President George W. Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 to reauthorize the federal backstop for seven years. First and foremost, reauthorization of TRIA means it is...
Aiming to Improve Alaska
Jan 13 2008 // A small state like Alaska sometimes has trouble convincing the property/casualty insurance industry of creating opportunities in its state. So Alaska Director of Insurance Linda Hall relies on her experiences as a former...
The World According to TRIPRA
Jan 13 2008 // Passage of federal terrorism insurance extension buys another seven years for industry to find a long-term solution Many in the insurance industry breathed a cool sigh of relief when just five days before the Terrorism...
Assessing Catastrophe Risk While Underwriting Doesn’t Require Big Changes
Jan 13 2008 // A little data can go a long way to improve risk selection in catastrophe prone areas For companies writing homeowners insurance in catastrophe prone states, the future of catastrophe risk assessment is now. Today, insurers...
Southern California Wildfire Losses Could Reach More than $2 Billion
Jan 11 2008 // The California Department of Insurance announced that since the wildfires broke out in Southern California in October 2007, 37,117 claims have been filed, and 1,531 of those claims are known to be total losses, with an...
State Farm Wants Proof of Occupancy for Hurricane-hit Homes in La.
Jan 9 2008 // State Farm is warning that it will cancel homeowner policies for about 6,000 of its customers in south Louisiana if they aren’t able to demonstrate that their storm-damaged homes are occupied and are being...
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Allstate and Subsidiaries
Jan 9 2008 // Rating agency A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa” of Allstate Insurance Group (Allstate) and its members. Additionally, A.M....
Best Report Warns on Danger of ‘Moderate Quakes’ in Europe
Jan 8 2008 // In a special report A.M. Best Co. warns that “lurking beneath Central Europe are numerous faults that rarely break the ground surface but that still could lead to large scale catastrophe losses for insurers and...
Insurance Bureau of Canada Calls for ‘Heightened Cooperation’ on Quakes
Jan 8 2008 // Central Europe isn’t the only place in the world that faces earthquake threats (See related article). The Insurance Bureau of Canada has issued a call for the creation of an ongoing working group between the...
Swiss Re Places $294 Million French Windstorm Bonds
Jan 8 2008 // Swiss Re announced that it has successfully structured and placed €200 million ($294 million) of securities covering windstorm events in France. The deal forms part of a three-year reinsurance agreement between Swiss Re...
Texas Recieved No Complaints from 2007 Hurricane Claims
Jan 8 2008 // No complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) on how the insurance industry handled any of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from Hurricane Humberto, the...
Stanard, Fox Partner With Insight Catastrophe Group
Jan 8 2008 // Insight Catastrophe Group, a specialty provider of property catastrophe risk management and underwriting services, announced a partnership with Jim Stanard and Rod Fox through their newly-formed organization, New Asset...
S&P: TRIPRA’s Passage Keeps U.S. Commercial Lines Outlook Stable
Jan 8 2008 // On Dec. 26, 2007, President George W. Bush signed into law the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TRIPRA), thereby retaining the federal backstop for terrorism risk through Dec. 31, 2014. The...
Rules on Stronger Earthquake Codes for Ark. on Hold for Now
Jan 7 2008 // An Arkansas legislative committee has put off a review of the state’s building code after lawmakers questioned costs related to making structures withstand earthquakes that come once every 2,500 years. Firefighters...
Statistics Based on Atlantic Hurricane Activity Can Overestimate Risk
Jan 7 2008 // New research on the link between the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and U.S. landfall activity suggests that using Atlantic basin hurricane activity as a proxy for landfall activity can lead to erroneous...
Nationwide Raises Earthquake Coverage Deductible in Ohio
Jan 4 2008 // Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is raising the deductible on its earthquake coverage because of the risk of major losses from an earthquake. Columbus-based Nationwide is raising the deductible from 2 percent to 5 percent...
