Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Americans More Fearful of Car Crashes, Terrorist Hits than Avian Flu
Jan 25 2006 // A new national survey of 1,000 Americans revealed that Americans are more fearful of car accidents, natural disasters and terrorist attacks than they are of the Avian Bird flu. The national survey was conducted by HCD...
Windstorm Conference Speaker Bailey Predicts Wind vs. Flood Suits Won’t Succeed
Jan 25 2006 // The controversy over litigation about wind vs. flood damage and what could happen in the market place and to the industry if Mississippi Attorney General James Hood and attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs are...
Fla. Property Insurance Reforms Described by CFO Gallagher
Jan 24 2006 // Solutions to strengthen Florida’s property insurance market were described by CFO Tom Gallagher during an address to the Windermere Rotary Club in Orlando, Fla. Last year, in the wake of two unprecedented hurricane...
IPC Holdings Updates 2005 Hurricane Loss estimates to $744 Million
Jan 24 2006 // Bermuda-based IPC Holdings, Ltd. has updated, which is to say increased, the estimated impact on its 2005 results from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. “Based upon current analysis, which has been updated using...
S. Fla. Homeowners Warned ‘Be Wary’ of Hurricane Repair Contractors
Jan 24 2006 // Consumer advocates are warning South Florida homeowners to be wary of contractors who take deposits up front for hurricane repairs or shutter installations. For example, officials said a company called Palms West Shutter...
FBI Uncovers Fraud in Miss., Creates Hurricane Task Force on Corruption
Jan 24 2006 // The FBI has uncovered fraud by public officials in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and has created a task force to investigate corruption as federal money pours into the Gulf Coast region, Mississippi’s top agent told...
S&P Sees ‘Little Impact’ on Ratings from Hurricane Estimate Differences
Jan 24 2006 // A self-descriptive article from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services -“Increases In Hurricane Loss Estimates To Have Little Impact On Insurer Ratings -” clarifies some questions concerning the actual...
Miss. Expert Says Hurricane Cycle Began in 1995, Still Going Strong
Jan 24 2006 // Hurricane Katrina brought much death and destruction to Mississippi and Louisiana, and upcoming hurricane seasons could be just as dangerous, according to Partick J. Fitzpatrick, a Mississippi State University...
Florida Candidates for Governor Pledge to Solve Citizens Problems, Add Insurers
Jan 23 2006 // Solving Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s problems, encouraging new insurers to enter the Florida market and lowering property insurance rates were debated by candidates for governor of Florida during a Jan. 20...
Global Catastrophe Reinsurance Price Increases Lower Than Expected
Jan 23 2006 // Although the overall market trends in both pricing and terms and conditions will not be fully developed until the July 1, 2006, Florida renewals are complete, and Standard & Poor’s says it is concerned that the...
N.Y. Lawmakers Call for Federal, State Catastrophe Funds
Jan 23 2006 // Three elected representatives from New York joined with a leading homeowner’s insurance company last week in a call for increased government involvement in providing reinsurance for catastrophes. Congressman Steve...
Springing Back
Jan 23 2006 // In the insurance world catastrophes pretty much defined what 2005 was all about; 2004, as well, for that matter. As devastating as all the hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes were for the people who suffered from them,...
Arson suspected in Texas wildfires
Jan 23 2006 // Some 70 fires thought to be work of arsonists Many of the wildfires that plagued Texas during the first half of January 2006 may have been started intentionally, according to the Texas Forest Service. Some 70 wildfires in...
I.I.I.: CLAIMS IN LA. EQUAL TO 25 YEARS OF PREMIUMS
Jan 23 2006 // The record total of homeowners insurance claims payments resulting from the 2005 hurricanes in Louisiana is enough to wipe out all homeowners premiums paid in the state during the past 25 years, as well as every dollar of...
Analysts predict faster P/C premium growth, underwriting profit
Jan 23 2006 // Each year the Insurance Information Institute invites a panel of Wall Street stock analysts and industry professionals to review the prospects for the industry in the year ahead. This year’s survey results indicate...
A seriously shaken reinsurance industry rebuilds
Jan 23 2006 // Although Katrina is long gone, the clouds of misfortune she and her sisters generated will linger for decades. They radiate well beyond Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and other regions into the heart of...
2006 looking good already for P/C industry
Jan 23 2006 // ‘The expectation for a third consecutive underwriting profit in 2006 is, of course, predicated on the belief that catastrophe activity will return to more “normal” levels. Record catastrophe losses will...
Regulatory modernization tops industry’s legislative agenda for 2006
Jan 23 2006 // With the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, passage of federal class action and crop insurance reform, enactment of asbestos reform in several states and some changes in state laws on pricing, property/casualty...
2006 hurricane preparations top Mississippi’s legislative agenda
Jan 23 2006 // PCI pushing for stronger building codes Enacting and enforcing a strong statewide building code could save billions of dollars in damages from hurricanes and should be among the top priorities of Mississippi lawmakers...
Fla. Insurance Council predicts hurricane coverage utmost concern
Jan 23 2006 // Florida Insurance Council Executive Vice President Sam Miller predicts hurricane insurance will be the most significant property and casualty issue in 2006, just as it was in 2005, on the state level. “Congress, at a...
