Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Southeast tops top 10 hurricane-prone areas
Nov 5 2006 // Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University, in Miami released the Top 10 List that nobody wants to be on: the 10 Most Vulnerable U.S. Mainland...
A year after Katrina, commercial property market ‘bleak’ in New Orleans
Nov 5 2006 // We insure a business in French Quarter in New Orleans which was unaffected by the flooding from Katrina and for the most part had fairly limited windstorm damage,” said Parke Ellis, a principal with Gillis, Ellis...
Hawaii’s earthquake losses, not earthquake policies, on the rise
Nov 5 2006 // Estimated damages from the two earthquakes that struck Hawaii on Oct. 15 have been rising. Yet the recent disaster has not spurred homeowners and businesses to purchase earthquake coverage, according the state’s...
News Currents
Nov 5 2006 // Hawaii acknowledges tsunami warning deficiencies Hawaii may have just suffered through two earthquakes, but the state says it has a potential flood problem. Hawaii’s tsunami warning system has serious deficiencies in...
Hawaii Acknowledges Tsunami Warning Deficiencies
Nov 2 2006 // Hawaii’s tsunami warning system has serious deficiencies in reliability and coverage area, according to state emergency officials. About 100 of the tsunami sirens don’t have emergency backup power, meaning they...
Evacuees Return to Find Homes Destroyed by Calif. Wildfire
Nov 1 2006 // While crews made progress on a wildfire that killed four firefighters, evacuees began returning to their homes — often to find nothing left. Carol Hurley stood Saturday at the still-smoldering wreckage of a...
Hanover: Big 3d Quarter Improvement, Despite Katrina Charge
Oct 31 2006 // The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. reported net income for the third quarter of $33.4 million, or $0.65 per share, compared to a net loss of $562.4 million, or $10.51 per share, in the third quarter of last year. The...
The Hartford’s Net Income Jumps 41% for Third Quarter
Oct 30 2006 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. reported record third quarter 2006 net income of $758 million, or $2.39 per diluted share — a sizable 41 percent boost over the same quarter last year. The Hartford’s...
Profits Surge at Chubb; Professional Liability Continues Improvement
Oct 27 2006 // The Chubb Corp. reported that net income in the third quarter of 2006 was $604 million, or $1.43 per share, compared to $246 million, or $0.60 per share, in the third quarter of 2005. Operating income increased to $579...
Fewer Hurricanes Allow St. Paul Travelers 3rd Quarter Profit to Soar
Oct 27 2006 // Minneapolis-based St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc. reported a six-fold increase in earnings and raised its guidance for the full year after clearing the third quarter without significant hurricane losses. Insurers struggled...
Palm Springs Homes Evacuated as Wildfire Sweeps Through Dry Brush
Oct 27 2006 // A wildfire swept through dry brush near Palm Springs, Calif., early Thursday, threatening homes and businesses and forcing evacuations. The blaze had burned more than 800 acre (320 hectares) within its first six hours, and...
Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Issues Notice of Earthquake Coverage
Oct 27 2006 // The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division has issued a notice to residents that some relief for earthquake related losses may be available under homeowners’ policies. “As you...
AIR Sees Possible $50 Billion European Windstorm Insured Losses
Oct 26 2006 // Boston-based consultant and catastrophe risk modeler AIR Worldwide Corporation has released a new analysis of European extratropical cyclones, which confirms that Europe could experience a winter storm resulting in insured...
RMS Licenses Cat Model to Lloyd’s Beaufort Syndicate.
Oct 24 2006 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS), which provides products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, announced that Beaufort Underwriting Agency Ltd., on behalf of its managed syndicate MSF...
Declarations
Oct 23 2006 // Virginia flooding “I really feel for the business owners in the heart of downtown who have fought so hard to come back after Floyd in 1999.” Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in declaring a statewide emergency...
Declarations
Oct 23 2006 // Back on track “With these new appointments, the Commission is committed to a new focus for the Division of Insurance, making New Mexico a more friendly place to do insurance business, while making the industry...
News Currents
Oct 23 2006 // Damage from Hawaii’s 6.6 earthquake predicted to be widespread Officials have begun inspecting bridges and roads across Hawaii, following the strongest earthquake to rattle the islands in more than two decades, a...
Hurricane risk reduces prospective profit of homeowners insurance
Oct 23 2006 // Increases in homeowners insurance rates have not been sufficient thus far to provide an adequate return on equity on homeowners insurance, making further increases necessary, according to an analysis by Aon Re. With...
P/C insurers’ profitability drops in first-half of 2006
Oct 23 2006 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes fell 9.3 percent to $28.3 billion in first-half 2006 from $31.2 billion in first-half 2005 as investment results deteriorated. Reflecting the...
Fla. Honors Retiring Hurricane Forecaster Mayfield
Oct 20 2006 // Governor Jeb Bush and members of the Florida Cabinet passed a resolution this week honoring Max Mayfield’s career in public service. As director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)...
