Catastrophe - Latest Insurance News

Hearing Set for Texas Windstorm Pool Reinsurance Request

Aug 18 2006 // The Texas Department of Insurance has scheduled a public hearing for Aug. 22, 2006, at 10:00 a.m., for Docket No. 2643: Consideration of a petition by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) requesting approval of...

La. Governor Meets With Insurers About Hurricane Problems

Aug 18 2006 // Gov. Kathleen Blanco met with representatives of at least a dozen of Louisiana’s largest property insurers on Aug. 17, hoping to ease jitters and keep them in the state after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Blanco wants...

Wildfire Injuries, Deaths on Rise in Georgia, Other Southern States

Aug 17 2006 // Wildfire-related injuries and fatalities are on the rise this season in Georgia and some other states, with sprawling suburban growth, dry conditions and changes in land-use patterns contributing to the problem. With urban...

Tower Report Urges Industry, Gov’t., Public to Rethink Cat Management

Aug 17 2006 // A new research report from the TowerGroup finds that “without a concerted effort by all parties to support a holistic solution to catastrophe management, the dire predictions of insolvency in the insurance sector and...

Floridians Flock to Get Home Hurricane-Preparedness Inspections

Aug 17 2006 // Florida homeowners on Aug. 15 flocked to a new state program that offers free hurricane-preparedness inspections and grants to help cover the cost of improvements. More than 3,500 people applied online within hours after...

State Farm Trying to Improve its Image After Hurricane Katrina

Aug 16 2006 // Representatives of State Farm Insurance Co. are on a media tour in Mississippi to give a more positive image to the company as it and others in the industry fend off lawsuits filed in the aftermath of Hurricane...

FEMA to Repay Nearly $56M to Texas for Hurricane Costs

Aug 16 2006 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse an additional $55.89 million to Houston and the Texas Department of Public Safety for costs associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, officials said. Houston will...

Average Insurance Premiums Remain Flat in Q2 Except in Hurricane Regions

Aug 16 2006 // According to the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.’s RIMS Benchmark Survey, commercial insurance premiums were flat to slightly lower in the second quarter of this year compared to the prior year. The RIMS...

Arizona Puts the Heat on Insurers for Wildfire Protection

Aug 15 2006 // As wildfire season stretches across the Western states from June through September, Christina Urias, director of the Arizona Department of Insurance, has lit a fire under agents and insurers to work with their clients to...

Best Affirms Glacier Re ‘A-‘ Ratings; Off Review; Outlook Negative

Aug 15 2006 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Swiss-based Glacier Reinsurance AG. Best also removed the ratings from...

Florida’s $250 Million Property Loss Mitigation Program Begins

Aug 15 2006 // Florida has begun My Safe Florida Home program, a $250 million mitigation program to help Floridians strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce property losses. Tom Gallagher, Florida’s chief financial...

Typhoon Saomai Kills 214; $1.4 Billion Damage Estimated

Aug 14 2006 // Authorities now put the death toll from Typhoon Saomai, which struck the southeastern coast of China last week, at 214. The storm, which came ashore near Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on Thursday, Aug. 10, packed winds in...

Insurers in Louisiana Agree to Extend Hurricane Lawsuit Deadline

Aug 14 2006 // Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon says nearly all of Louisiana’s homeowners insurance companies, including State Farm and Allstate, have complied with his order to extend the prescriptive period for policyholders...

Powerful Typhoon Kills 83 in China

Aug 11 2006 // The most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades raged across its southeastern coast Thursday, claiming at least 83 lives as it capsized ships, destroyed buildings and forced 1.5 million people from their...

PXRE Heads Towards Run-off

Aug 9 2006 // The Bermuda-based PXRE Group Ltd. reported its results for the second quarter of 2006, and further indicated that, barring some last minute “strategic alternative,” it is heading towards runoff. PXRE was...

Allied World Q2 Net up 43% to $102.4 Million; Conference Call Today

Aug 9 2006 // Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd. joined the many Bermuda-based insurers, who have turned in strong second quarter and first half results. The Company reported net income of $102.4 million, or $2.02 per diluted...

Hawaii Seeking Comments on Hurricane Retrofits

Aug 9 2006 // Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Jeffrey Schmidt is preparing to establish a program to provide grants for hurricane retrofits, otherwise known as wind resistive devices. The draft performance specifications for the wind...

Marine market responds to stressed property coverage demand

Aug 7 2006 // A recent Wall Street Journal story proclaimed, “As Hurricane Season Begins, Disaster Insurance Runs Short.” Indeed, the stark headline in the July 10 article mirrors the market reality: There is a severe lack...

Marine market responds to stressed catastrophic property coverage