Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Indonesia Taking Steps to Reduce Tsunami Casualties
Jul 30 2006 // Indonesia plans to build elevated safety zones in low-lying coastal areas to help reduce casualties in the event of another tsunami, a government official said. Concrete walls or artificial hills will be created in resort...
La. Wants Hurricane Law Suit Extension Issue Settled in State Court
Jul 28 2006 // Louisiana plans to fight attempts by Allstate Corp. to have a federal court determine if new laws giving homeowners two years to file lawsuits against their insurers is legal. Allstate filed a suit July 20 asking U.S....
Is U.S. Prepared for a Cyber Catastrophe? Businesses Say, ‘No’
Jul 28 2006 // Testifying before a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee, Karl Brondell of State Farm Insurance Companies warned that the U.S. is not adequately prepared for a cyber catastrophe. The insurance...
Hazard Mitigation Grant Money Bolstering Fla. Improvement Projects
Jul 27 2006 // Manatee County, Fla. is installing state-of-the-art hurricane shutters on facilities responsible for treating and testing the county’s water supply; while Leesburg, Fla. in Lake County, is placing windproof hurricane...
Southeast Asian Nations Urge Disaster Warning Systems
Jul 26 2006 // Southeast Asian foreign ministers this week issued an urgent call to set up disaster alert systems in the region, shaken by Indonesia’s failure to give advance warning of a tsunami last week that killed at least 600...
Chubb Chugs Along in 2d Quarter; Raises Outlook for 2006
Jul 26 2006 // The Chubb Corporation reported that net income in the second quarter of 2006 was $598 million, or $1.41 per share, compared to $495 million, or $1.23 per share, in the second quarter of 2005. Operating income, which the...
Allstate Says it Can Drop Basic Hurricane Coverage in La.
Jul 26 2006 // Allstate Insurance Co. officials say Louisiana state law allows the company to drop basic hurricane coverage for 30,000 policyholders in 18 coastal parishes – a stand that state Insurance Commission Jim Donelon is...
Congressional Hearing Meets on ‘Terrorism and the Insurance Market’
Jul 25 2006 // Two U.S. House subcommittees — the Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Oversights and Investigation, and the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk...
Former FEMA director promotes government-industry disaster mediation
Jul 24 2006 // Federal and state governments should work with private insurance companies to sponsor disaster mediation programs, according to a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. James Lee Witt, president of James...
News Currents
Jul 24 2006 // Witt pointed out that as he looks across Florida, the Gulf coast states and America, he has recently seen more devastating events than have ever been witnessed in the history of the nation. He said that in today’s...
Former FEMA director promotes government-industry disaster mediation
Jul 24 2006 // News Currents Federal and state governments should work with private insurance companies to sponsor disaster mediation programs, according to a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. James Lee Witt,...
STUDY QUESTIONS EFFECTIVENESS OF EFFORTS TO DETER TERRORISM
Jul 24 2006 // Government attempts to deter terrorism can backfire and promote invigorated reprisals and a cycle of violence, according to a new study by University of Maryland researchers. The study is based on a review of what the...
Donelon orders insurers to extend hurricane claims period in Louisiana
Jul 24 2006 // Just over a month after asking insurers in his state to voluntarily do so, Louisiana Commis-sioner of Insurance Jim Donleon issued Directive 199 mandating that all companies insuring property in Louisiana extend the period...
Excess flood market steps up when national flood program falls short
Jul 24 2006 // The historical lessons learned from Katrina and Rita, and looming predictions of a future with bigger and stronger storms, have made flood insurance popular these days — even in locations where it was previously...
Former FEMA director promotes state, federal disaster mediation
Jul 24 2006 // Federal and state governments need to work with insurance companies to sponsor disaster mediation programs before something happens — before people who have worked all their lives for everything they have, all of a...
U.S. property/casualty industry posts record 1Q profits
Jul 24 2006 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s net gain on underwriting rose $1.4 billion, or 20.8 percent, to $8.4 billion in first-quarter 2006 from $6.9 billion in first-quarter 2005. The combined ratio–a key measure...
FAIA cat team volunteers honored for helping during Hurricane Katrina
Jul 24 2006 // Veronica Della Porta, chairman of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, recognized catastrophe team volunteers who traveled to hard-hit areas and assisted victims during 2005, when hurricanes hit the southeast...
Sen. Smith unveils ‘comprehensive plan’ to fix Florida’s insurance woes
Jul 24 2006 // Unless the state adopts a comprehensive and workable plan, accumulating financial stress could destroy the viability of the Florida insurance market and leave millions of Floridians without affordable and reliable...
Hurricane consultant outlines mitigation steps
Jul 24 2006 // According to a consultant for the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Florida’s building codes, which were approved in 2001, are working. He also says that Hurricane Charlie was a “model” hurricane in the...
FAIA cat team volunteers honored for helping during Hurricane Katrina
Jul 24 2006 // Veronica Della Porta, chairman of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, recognized catastrophe team volunteers who traveled to hard-hit areas and assisted victims during 2005, when hurricanes hit the southeast...
