Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FARA Launches Property Services Division for Non-Catastrophe Claims
Aug 27 2006 // Mandeville, La.-based FARA announced the creation of its latest division, FARA Property Services. The company’s newest operation will manage non-catastrophe claims in connection with FARA Catastrophe Services Inc....
Florida Declares State of Emergency in Response to Ernesto Threat
Aug 27 2006 // As of 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Ernesto was moving over eastern Cuba bringing heavy rains, floods and mudslides, according to the National Hurricane Center. A hurricane watch has been extended along Florida’s...
National Hurricane Center Chief Mayfield to Retire
Aug 27 2006 // Max Mayfield, long-time director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., will retire at the end of the year after 34 years of federal service. Mayfield said he wishes to spend more time with his wife and family,...
Reinsurers Tell Fla. Panel Rate Freedom Key to Insurance Fix
Aug 27 2006 // The basic solution to Florida’s hurricane insurance crisis is for consumers to pay more, despite double-digit increases already levied over two years, insurance officials said Thursday, the anniversary of Hurricane...
TS Ernesto Threatens Gulf; Could Become Season’s First Hurricane
Aug 26 2006 // Miami’s National Hurricane Center is currently tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. As of 11:00 a.m. EDT the storm’s center was located near latitude 15.1 north/longitude 71.2 west...
6 in 10 Business Now Buying Terror Coverage, Marsh Reports
Aug 25 2006 // Nearly six in 10 large and mid-sized U.S. businesses obtained insurance to cover property terrorism risks during 2005, a dramatic increase from the 2003 average of 27 percent and up from 50 percent in 2004. Meanwhile, the...
Tornadoes Hit Northern Ind., Minn., Causing Damage and One Death
Aug 25 2006 // Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept off Lake Michigan Wednesday evening, downing trees and power lines and causing some injuries in Indiana and killing one resident in Minnesota. In LaPorte County, Ind., 911 Assistant...
Washington Governor Declares Wildfire Emergency
Aug 25 2006 // Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a statewide wildfire emergency as several large fires burned in the state and forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and high winds. “Numerous wildfires across Washington...
Best Affirms Swiss Re, GEIS, GE Frankona Ratings; Off Review
Aug 24 2006 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of “A+” (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Swiss Reinsurance Company and its rated subsidiaries. Best also...
Coalition Says Insurer Group’s Disaster Plan is Insufficient
Aug 22 2006 // With the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina one week away, the American Insurance Association (AIA) has unveiled a National Catastrophe Agenda designed to reinforce resilience to catastrophic hurricanes. But not...
Trial Attorneys Claim Insurers Putting Profits Over People in Katrina’s Wake
Aug 22 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf Coast, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (AFTL) and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) are launching a national petition drive calling on insurance...
A Year Later, Insurers Report 95% of Katrina Claims in La. and Miss. Settled
Aug 22 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina, the insurance industry says that nearly 95 percent of homeowners insurance claims have been settled in Louisiana and Mississippi, insurance companies have paid billions in storm damage...
Insurers: Trial Bar Short on Facts in Katrina Charges
Aug 22 2006 // Trial attorneys’ charges that the insurance industry is putting profits over people in the handling of claims from Hurricane Katrina are being dismissed by industry trade groups. The Florida Insurance Council (FIC),...
Texas AG Says Hotel and Owner Exploited Hurricane Evacuees
Aug 21 2006 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he has sued an economy motel operator for charging exorbitant rates to evacuees fleeing Hurricane Rita in September 2005. The suit alleges the Lone Star Motel in Waco, Texas,...
Not telling consumers about risks may be an agent’s biggest risk
Aug 21 2006 // Every year, just before daylight savings time rolls around, I get a package in the mail with a 9-volt battery. The package is from my mortgage company, sending me a reminder to change the battery in my smoke detector. That...
Hurricane forecasts lighten up
Aug 21 2006 // Forecasters are saying that the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season should be slightly less active than earlier predicted. The National Hurricane Center and other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies said...
Not telling consumers about risks may be an agent’s biggest risk
Aug 21 2006 // Every year, just before daylight savings time rolls around, I get a package in the mail with a 9-volt battery. The package is from my mortgage company, sending me a reminder to change the battery in my smoke detector. That...
Allstate Drops Alaska Earthquake Coverage
Aug 18 2006 // Nearly 7,000 Alaskans will lose their earthquake insurance as their policies come up for renewal in the coming months. Allstate Insurance Co. is cutting its optional earthquake coverage nationwide, and will drop this plan...
Best Reports on Reinsurers: ‘Humbled, But Most Not Broken’
Aug 18 2006 // In its recently issued global insurance report A.M. Best Co. concludes that “almost a year after three massive hurricanes—Katrina, Rita and Wilma—the global reinsurance industry is still struggling to manage its...
EPI Study Finds Coastal Population Drain Following Hurricanes
Aug 18 2006 // A study conducted by the Earth Policy Institute (http://www.earth-policy.org) concludes that a number of people who evacuated their homes in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma may have left permanently. The EPI...
