Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Regulators Urge Senate to Move Quickly on Insuring Terrorism Risks
Mar 1 2007 // Speaking on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Division of Insurance, testified this week before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and...
Best Revises 2007 Global Reinsurance Outlook to Stable
Mar 1 2007 // Following its upbeat analysis of the personal lines market (See related article in National section), A.M. Best Co. has also given a thumbs up to the global reinsurance market. Best revised its 2007 outlook for the sector...
Caribbean Nations Establish Joint Disaster Insurance Pool
Feb 28 2007 // Caribbean countries joined by outside donors and international and regional organizations established a $47 million (euro35.7 million) insurance pool this week to soften the blow from earthquakes and hurricanes. Called the...
Industry: Federal Terrorism Insurance Still Vital to National Security
Feb 28 2007 // Insurance industry advocates urged Congress today to ensure the availability of terrorism risk insurance through a continued federal government role and to examine long-term solutions before the current backstop...
Liberty Mutual Reports Record Earnings
Feb 27 2007 // Aided by lower than expected catastrophe losses and strong underwriting, Liberty Mutual Group reported net income of $455 million and $1.626 billion for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended December 31, 2006,...
Hawaii Reviewing Hurricane Cat Models
Feb 27 2007 // Hawaii’s Insurance Division, in its guidelines on supplemental rate filing requirements for property insurance, is advising that it will be reviewing the appropriateness of catastrophe models for hurricane exposure...
Tornadoes Reported in Four States; 27 Injured in Arkansas
Feb 27 2007 // Authorities went door to door in search of an unknown number of people who remained unaccounted for after severe storms swept through southern Arkansas, shredding home and businesses and injuring at least 27...
Winds of change
Feb 26 2007 // The lack of markets and affordable windstorm coverage for both homeowners and businesses has reached crisis proportions in some states. Hopefully this legislation will spark serious policy debate in Congress on this...
The Commissioners: Thomas Hampton
Feb 26 2007 // D.C. growing its captive market, escaping worst of property pullbacks Thomas Hampton, commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Securities, Insurance and Banking. Hampton, who was reappointed to his post by...
Chicago Exchange offering futures contracts on ’07 hurricanes
Feb 26 2007 // The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest derivatives exchange in the U.S., is launching contracts that will allow insurers and others to hedge risk against hurricane damage. The exchange, a unit of CME Holdings Inc.,...
A look behind the very good P/C results for 2006
Feb 26 2007 // The numbers, or estimates, for the property casualty insurance industry for 2006 are in. Dr Robert Hartwig, president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute, discussed them with Insurance...
Should windstorm be added to the NFIP?
Feb 26 2007 // U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., recently introduced the Multiple Peril Insurance Act, which would offer windstorm coverage as an option for consumers within the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill has sparked...
A look behind the very good P/C results for 2006
Feb 26 2007 // The numbers, or estimates, for the property casualty insurance industry for 2006 are in, and Dr. Robert Hartwig, president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute, discussed them with Insurance...
Katrina lawsuits: Are the winds of fortune changing for insurers?
Feb 26 2007 // In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when it became apparent that property losses would total billions of dollars, the insurance industry was understandably concerned that courts in Mississippi and Louisiana...
Reaping the wind will be the responsibility of insurers
Feb 26 2007 // There seem to be many questions on the minds of consumers, agents and public policy makers about coastal insurance issues presently and in the future. As an industry, we have been forthright about insurance issues facing...
La.’s Blanco: Insurance industry over-reacting to 2005 hurricanes
Feb 26 2007 // The insurance industry is over-reacting to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, threatening the region’s recovery by withdrawing coverage and charging exorbitant rates, Gov. Kathleen Blanco told a gathering of insurance...
Lessons learned from Katrina and beyond
Feb 26 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...
(Un)funny money
Feb 26 2007 // Hawaii may have its hurricanes, California has its earthquakes and floods, and Colorado (at least this year) has cumulative snowfalls nearly a mile high. Yet in 2006, the Midwest — not West — won in the...
A look behind the very good property/casualty results for 2006
Feb 26 2007 // The numbers, or estimates, for the property/ casualty insurance industry for 2006 are in. Dr. Robert Hartwig, president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute, sat down with Insurance Journal’s...
Agents welcome windstorm debate; insurers warn against subsidies
Feb 26 2007 // The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) says the debate over windstorm coverage is crucial for consumers and independent agents and brokers in many regions around the...
