Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Swiss Re Supports Indian Quake Safety
Mar 7 2008 // Swiss Re has participated in a workshop in New Delhi – “Integrating Earthquake Risk Mitigation into Hospital Facilities Planning” – organized by US-based NGO GeoHazards International and the Delhi...
Storms’ Intensity Remains Tough to Predict, Says U.S. Hurricane Chief
Mar 6 2008 // The new head of the National Hurricane Center says the big challenge for forecasters is predicting the intensity of hurricanes. Bill Read says there’s been a lot of improvement in track models in recent years. But he...
World Bank Approves New Catastrophe Loan Facility
Mar 5 2008 // The World Bank launched a new catastrophe loan facility on Tuesday, March 4, and revised an existing contingency credit line designed to help increase its business with middle-income countries. The World Bank board...
AIR Assesses Damages from European Windstorm Emma
Mar 4 2008 // Boston-based AIR Worldwide is assessing the damages caused by windstorm Emma, which swept across Western and Southern Germany, as well as Austria and the Czech Republic on Saturday, March 1. No damage estimates have yet...
RMS Ups UK Quake Loss Estimates: $30 to $60 Million
Mar 3 2008 // Risk Management Solutions has given updated estimates of the likely insured losses caused by the earthquake that struck Market Rasen in Lincolnshire in Northeast England on Thursday (See IJ web site –...
Feds Open Center in Southern Ky. to Help Tornado Victims
Feb 29 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a center in southern Kentucky about a mile from where a winter storms tore apart homes and killed four people earlier this month. FEMA workers are at a Mobile Disaster...
Ga. Official Says Tornadoes, Storms Caused $15 Million Damage
Feb 29 2008 // Thunderstorms and tornadoes that raced into Georgia from the west Tuesday morning caused about $15 million damage to some 1,300 homes, a state official said Wednesday. Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine earlier estimated...
Earthquake Strikes England; No Deaths Reported, Initial Damages $20 Million
Feb 28 2008 // The British Geological Survey (BGS – http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/) recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 (ML) on the Richter scale near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire at 00:56 GMT, yesterday, Feb. 27. While...
Best Holds Stable Reinsurance Outlook
Feb 28 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has issued an analysis of the global reinsurance sector, indicating that it will maintain an overall “stable outlook” for 2008 for the second consecutive year. “The affirmation of the...
Willis on Middle East Terrorism Insurance
Feb 27 2008 // Willis Group Holdings has released a summation of its presentation on terrorism insurance at the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) conference in Bahrain. The global broker notes: “Despite a number of recent...
Most Utah Homeowners Don’t Buy Earthquake Coverage
Feb 26 2008 // That earthquake in eastern Nevada last week may be a bit of a wake-up call for Utah homeowners. According to the Utah Department of Insurance, most homeowners in the state don’t have coverage for earthquakes. Like...
Virginia Wildfires Drained State Funds
Feb 26 2008 // Two weeks into spring fire season, the Virginia Department of Forestry already has spent its entire 2008 funds for firefighting. Spokesman John Campbell tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch that early estimates suggest the...
Coastal Growth, Not Global Warming, Blamed for Rising Storm Losses
Feb 25 2008 // A hurricane that hit Miami in 1926 would cause up to $157 billion in damage if it were to strike today, according to a recent study. U.S. storm costs are rising because of higher populations and wealth on the coasts, not a...
Fla. Insurers See Hurricane Insurance Market on the Mend
Feb 25 2008 // The insurance market in Florida is adjusting to changing conditions – some man-made, others resulting from forces of nature – all of which make property insurance for Florida homeowners more available and more...
Tenn. Bears Brunt of February Tornadoes Across South
Feb 24 2008 // More than two dozen tornadoes tore through the mid-South late on Feb. 5, destroying homes, barns, and industrial buildings from Texas to Ohio. The severe thunderstorm outbreak, which included tornadoes, hail, heavy rain...
Catlin Seals $150 Cat Bond Purchase; Willis Advised on Deal
Feb 22 2008 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited has purchased a collateralized US$150 million annual aggregate reinsurance contract to protect the Group’s portfolio of property treaty reinsurance against accumulated losses...
Lloyd’s Analyzes Southeast Asia Terrorism Threat
Feb 22 2008 // Lloyd’s has warned that businesses operating in Southeast Asia “need to better understand that the Asian terrorism threat is unique, complex and specific to the region.” Lloyd’s and the...
Fla. Lawmakers Confront Property Insurance, again, in 2008 Session
Feb 22 2008 // Property insurance wasn’t supposed to be the big issue in the 2008 Florida Legislature. To the chagrin of many lawmakers, it just won’t go away. Legislators thought they’d largely taken care of the issue...
Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Northeastern Nevada
Feb 22 2008 // A strong earthquake struck near the northeastern Nevada town of Wells Thursday, causing major structural damage to some older masonry buildings, igniting small fires and bursting windows in homes and businesses. According...
Munich Re Sets Up $1.5 Billion Pandemic Risk Cat Bond Facility
Feb 21 2008 // Munich Re announced the establishment of a bond program amounting to $1.5 billion for the transfer of extreme mortality risk to the capital markets. The placement marks the first time that Munich Re has set up a cat bond...
