Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Orlando Attorney Elected President of Windstorm Insurance Group

Mar 19 2007 // Attorney Janice A. Kelly was recently elected as the 2007- 2008 president of the Windstorm Insurance Network, Inc., a non-profit organization comprised of almost 1,000 individuals and groups interested in windstorm-related...

Hurricane Chief Voices Concerns About Forecasts from Aging Satellite

Mar 19 2007 // Certain hurricane forecasts could become less accurate if a key weather satellite that is already beyond its expected life span fails, the nation’s new top forecaster said. The change would mean placing longer...

Study Reveals Potential for $100 Billion Earthquake Loss in Beijing, China

Mar 16 2007 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS) announced the preliminary results of a study analyzing the impacts of the 1679 Sanhe-Pinggu Earthquake based on the 2007 population and property exposures of the Beijing, China area. The...

Washington Warming to National Disaster Plan Idea

Mar 16 2007 // A proposal for a national disaster plan to backup private hurricane and flood insurance markets appears to be gaining momentum in Washington. This week, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services...

Mich. Catastrophic Fund Assessment to Decrease

Mar 15 2007 // An assessment paid by auto insurance carriers to cover catastrophic injuries resulting from auto crashes will decrease on July 1. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) assessment, which covers costs for...

EPA Allows Demolition of 1,200 Hurricane-Damaged Homes in Miss.

Mar 15 2007 // About 1,200 hurricane-damaged homes in south Mississippi can be torn down under rules that have been extended by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s No Action Assurance program runs until Sept. 30 for...

La.’s Citizens Agrees to Mass Settlement of Hurricane Suits

Mar 12 2007 // Louisiana’s state-run insurer has agreed to a mass settlement with more than 100 policyholders, a deal believed to be the first of its kind in the state since hurricanes Katrina and Rita spawned thousands of...

Dodd Blasts Insurance Industry Response to Hurricanes

Mar 12 2007 // U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democratic presidential hopeful, said he’s angry with the insurance industry’s response to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes and said Mar. 9 he will hold senate committee hearings on...

News Currents

Mar 12 2007 // Chicago Exchange, Carvill ready hurricane futures for insurers The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest derivatives exchange in the United States, recently announced that it is launching contracts that will allow...

N.Y. City, other U.S. centers need federal terrorism insurance to compete globally, says Supt. Dinallo

Mar 12 2007 // A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by similar...

Industry gears up for more federal terrorism insurance debates

Mar 12 2007 // Advocates say the coverage still vital to national security and a long-term solution is needed Insurance industry advocates urged Congress yet again to continue with a federal government role in terrorism risk insurance...

Caribbean nations establish joint disaster insurance pool

Mar 12 2007 // Caribbean countries joined by outside donors and international and regional organizations established a $47 million insurance pool to soften the blow from earthquakes and hurricanes. Called the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk...

Number of catastrophe-related laws enacted rose significantly in 2006

Mar 12 2007 // State lawmakers ready to exceed or outpace last year’s total Enacted catastrophe-related laws increased dramatically in the states last year, according to the annual survey of state insurance laws prepared by an...

N.Y. City, other U.S. centers need federal terrorism insurance to compete globally, says Supt. Dinallo

Mar 12 2007 // News Currents A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by...

Tim Wagner, Nebraska, Director of Insurance

Mar 12 2007 // Director of Insurance L. Tim Wagner has spent close to 40 years in the insurance industry, the last nine as the appointed Nebraska regulator. He takes his role seriously and believes the insurance industry has a real...

Julie Mix McPeak, Kentucky, Executive Director, Office of Insurance

Mar 12 2007 // Julie Mix McPeak, an attorney with more than a decade of experience in state government, was appointed executive director of the Kentucky Office of Insurance (KOI) by Gov. Ernie Fletcher last June. McPeak succeeded Glenn...

Multistate natural disaster proposal garners mixed reaction

Mar 12 2007 // News Currents Insurance officials in Florida, where a spate of hurricanes have set the industry into turmoil, pitched the idea recently of multistate insurance pools for natural disasters to their colleagues from across...

Lessons learned from Katrina and beyond

Mar 12 2007 // The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season came and went with barely a blip — despite initial projections by some that there would be two to five major hurricanes that year. How could insurance industry predictions be so...

Chicago Exchange offering futures contracts on ’07 hurricanes

Mar 12 2007 // The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is launching contracts that will allow insurers and others to hedge risk against hurricane damage. The exchange, a unit of CME Holdings Inc., is teaming up with Carvill Group, a reinsurance...

Caribbean nations establish joint disaster insurance pool

Mar 12 2007 // Caribbean countries joined by outside donors and international and regional organizations established a $47 million insurance pool to soften the blow from earthquakes and hurricanes. Called the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk...