Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Despite ‘uneventful’ year, there was no escaping catastrophes in 2006
Dec 25 2006 // It was difficult to get away from natural catastrophes in 2006, even though the year was relatively unscathed by those types of events. Back-to-back 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continued to wreak havoc on insurance...
Global warming represents watershed event for insurance industry
Dec 25 2006 // At various points in history — the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, urban riots of the 1960s, and terrorism today — watershed events or trends ushered in structural changes within the U.S. insurance industry....
Contingent commissions, court rulings highlight 2006
Dec 25 2006 // In 2006, the Midwest experienced the impact of contingent commission settlements based on the actions of several attorneys general and a myriad of court rulings on insurers’ use of credit, liquor liability and...
Global warming represents watershed event for insurance industry
Dec 25 2006 // At various points in history — the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, urban riots of the 1960s, and terrorism today — watershed events or trends ushered in structural changes within the U.S. insurance industry....
Insurance issues have been key in Southeast’s ongoing recovery
Dec 25 2006 // While Mother Nature was nicer to the Southeast and the insurance industry in 2006 than she was in 2005, her potential for destruction was never far from the minds of those living and rebuilding in the Southeast. Insurance...
Top 10 Stories of the Year – West
Dec 24 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
Global warming represents watershed event for insurance industry
Dec 24 2006 // At various points in history — the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, urban riots of the 1960s, and terrorism today — watershed events or trends ushered in structural changes within the U.S. insurance industry....
Global warming represents watershed event for insurance industry
Dec 24 2006 // At various points in history — the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, urban riots of the 1960s, and terrorism today — watershed events or trends ushered in structural changes within the U.S. insurance industry....
Top 10 Stories of the Year – South Central
Dec 24 2006 // It was difficult to get away from natural catastrophes in 2006, even though the year was relatively unscathed by those types of events. Back-to-back 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continued to wreak havoc on insurance...
Global warming represents watershed event for insurance industry
Dec 24 2006 // At various points in history — the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930s, urban riots of the 1960s, and terrorism today — watershed events or trends ushered in structural changes within the U.S. insurance industry....
Top 10 Stories of the Year – Southeast
Dec 24 2006 // While Mother Nature was nicer to the Southeast and the insurance industry in 2006 than she was in 2005, her potential for destruction was never far from the minds of those living and rebuilding in the Southeast. Insurance...
Munich Re Places $190 Million Calif. Quake Cat Bond for Zurich
Dec 22 2006 // Munich Re announced that it has transferred earthquake risks in California to the capital markets for subsidiaries of the Zurich Financial Services Group in cooperation with Aon Capital Markets, providing coverage through...
Aon Places California Earthquake Catastrophe Bond
Dec 22 2006 // Aon Corp., based in Chicago, announced that its investment banking group, Aon Capital Markets, completed the private placement of $190 million of principal at- risk variable rate notes for Munich Re. The placement provides...
Allstate Adds Maryland Coast to Its ‘No New Business’ List
Dec 22 2006 // Citing concerns that a warmer Atlantic Ocean will lead to more strong hurricanes hitting the region, Allstate Corp. will stop writing homeowners’ policies in coastal areas of Maryland. Starting in February, the...
S&P Lowers United Fire & Casualty’s Rating to ‘A-‘ from ‘A’
Dec 21 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on United Fire & Casualty Co. and its wholly owned subsidiaries to ‘A-‘ from...
2006 Catastrophes Cost World’s Insurers $15 Billion, Lightest Hit in Years, Swiss Re Estimates
Dec 20 2006 //
Skyrocketing Insurance Rates Part of Gov. Bush’s Legacy
Dec 19 2006 // Earlier this year, Ginny Stevans began compiling the “book of tears” – dozens of e-mails from Floridians who are suffering because of skyrocketing property insurance rates. Stevans, president of a Pasco...
Hurricanes Provide Florida with Practice for Handling Possible Pandemic
Dec 19 2006 // Hurricanes and flu outbreaks wouldn’t seem to have much in common. But Florida officials say that if a global outbreak of influenza emerges, sickening millions, many of the lessons learned responding to storms would...
Best Affirms Montpelier Re ‘A-‘ Ratings; Raises Outlook to ‘Stable’
Dec 18 2006 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Bermuda-based Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd. Concurrently, Best affirmed the ICR of...
Swiss Re Releases New <em>sigma</em> Study on Securitization
Dec 14 2006 // Swiss Re’s new sigma study – Securitizations,” also called “insurance linked securities (ILS),” notes that they “provide insurers with a financing vehicle and a means of transferring...
