Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mitigating the everyday catastrophe
Feb 11 2007 // The exposures faced by businesses in catastrophe-prone areas have been well-documented post-Katrina and facility owners and managers have responded by focusing mitigation efforts on these high priority risks. But what they...
Top 10 tornado cities
Feb 11 2007 // The violent thunderstorms in Central Florida in early February, spawned powerful tornadoes that killed at least 20 people is a deadly reminder of the constant threat insurers face against tornado exposures. Tornado-related...
P/C industry may be long overdue for massive losses from an extreme “great” earthquake
Feb 11 2007 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry is long overdue for heavy losses from a massive earthquake, reports A.M. Best in its recent “2006 Annual Earthquake Study.” It is likely that if an earthquake of...
Lloyd’s climbs on the climate change bandwagon
Feb 11 2007 // There’s little doubt that the world is getting warmer. But this raises more questions. To what extent are greenhouse gasses, particularly CO2, responsible? Will the warming trend continue? Are there any effective...
S&P Puts Eurus Notes on CreditWatch/Negative after Windstorm
Feb 9 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed a CreditWatch with negative implications on its “BB” rating on the $150 million principal at-risk variable-rate notes issued by Eurus Ltd. “The...
Agents Welcome Windstorm Debate; Insurers Warn Against Subsidies
Feb 9 2007 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) says the debate over windstorm coverage is crucial for consumers and independent agents and brokers in many regions throughout the...
Kent Wholesale Offers DIC Earthquake and Flood Coverage
Feb 9 2007 // Kent Wholesale Insurance Brokers headquartered in Portland, Ore., is providing DIC including earthquake and flood coverage on admitted paper for Oregon and Washington risks. The product is rated in-house, and indications...
Fla.: Citizens Tornado Claims Payments Top $500,000
Feb 8 2007 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. paid out more than $520,000 in claims payments to policyholders affected by the Feb. 2 storms according to a company official. “We’ve paid $521,951 in damage claims and have...
La. Officials Urge Federal Role in Hurricane Insurance
Feb 8 2007 // Louisiana state senators say they will ask Congress to have the federal government insure homes against hurricane damage, as it does for floods. “Y’all won’t sell it, so why not get the federal government...
Fla. Gov. Crist Visits Citizens Catastrophe Response Center; Claims Count Rising
Feb 7 2007 // Gov. Charlie Crist talked with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation catastrophe response employees Tuesday at one of four Emergency Operations Centers serving Central Florida residents affected by tornadoes and high...
RenaissanceRe Reports Record 2006 Net Income of $761.6 Million
Feb 7 2007 // Bermuda’s RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. bounced back strongly from last year’s catastrophes to post net income for 2006 of $761.635 million, compared to a $281.3 million loss in 2005. Operating income for the...
Fla. Commissioner Prohibits Cancellation of Tornado Victims’ Policies
Feb 7 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty issued an emergency order prohibiting insurance companies from canceling personal lines insurance policies for residents affected by last week’s tornadoes in central...
U.S. Wants $309M in Katrina Hurricane Aid Returned
Feb 7 2007 // In the New Orleans neighborhood President George W. Bush visited after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government gave $84.5 million to more than 10,000 households. But official figures show fewer than 8,000 homes existed...
Lexington Increases Terrorism Capacity to $250 Million
Feb 6 2007 // Lexington Insurance Company, a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), has increased its capacity of commercial domestic property terrorism insurance to $250 million from $100 million. “Lexington...
D.C. Man Sentenced for FEMA Hurricane Relief Fraud Scheme
Feb 6 2007 // Jeffrey Alan Rothschild, 59, also known as Jeffrey Zahler, has been sentenced to 102 months in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of more than $100,000 in relief...
Industry Forecast Predicts Slower Premium Growth, But Underwriting Profit in 2007 and 2008
Feb 5 2007 // Most insurance industry analysts predict slower P/C premium growth for 2007, according to an Insurance Information Institute’s annual survey of Wall Street stock analysts and industry professionals released each year...
RMS Creates ‘Climate Change’ Position to Evaluate Impact on Risks
Feb 5 2007 // Newark, Calif.-based – Risk Management Solutions, a provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, announced the appointment of Dr. Celine Herweijer to the position of “Principal...
City Disaster Teams Share Lessons from Terrorist Attacks
Feb 5 2007 // Government and American Red Cross disaster experts from New York, London and Madrid — three cities hit by terrorist attacks in recent years — met last week in New York for a two-day conference to share experiences and...
Small Earthquake Shakes Western Kentucky
Feb 5 2007 // A small earthquake along the New Madrid Fault shook two towns in far western Kentucky, but no injuries or damages were reported. The magnitude 2.9 quake, centered 3 miles northwest of Bardwell, was recorded at 5:47 p.m....
Central Florida Clean Up Continues in Wake of Deadly, Costly Tornados
Feb 5 2007 // Officials in central Florida resumed search and rescue operations amid more thunderstorms Saturday, a day after powerful tornados killed at least 20 people and left a swath of central Florida in shambles. Violent...
