Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Calif. Commissioner Reminds Consumers to Update Disaster Plans on Northridge Earthquake Anniversary
Jan 17 2006 // Calif. Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Monday urged Californians to prepare for future emergencies, noting that the devastating Northridge earthquake, which struck twelve years ago today, left many unprepared...
Allstate Backs National Disaster Fund But Other Insurers Balk
Jan 15 2006 // The chief executive of Allstate Corp., one of the largest U.S. insurance companies, has endorsed a proposal to create a national insurance catastrophe fund as a backstop to state disaster funds. Several Florida lawmakers...
Everest Re Ups 2005 Hurricane Losses to $1.2 Billion
Jan 13 2006 // The Bermuda-based Everest Re Group, Ltd. announced that it has increased its loss estimates for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Total pre-tax losses from these events, which had previously been estimated at $1.0...
Ala. County Commissioners Threatened, Reverse Vote to Buy Terrorist Insurance
Jan 12 2006 // Two weeks after voting to spend $7,000 a year for terrorism insurance, commissioners in a rural Alabama county have responded to a more immediate threat: angry voters. The Clarke County Commission has voted unanimously to...
Miss. Hurricane Victims Warned: Beware of Contractor Scams
Jan 12 2006 // Hurricane Katrina victims in Mississippi have been warned to beware of scam artists and disreputable contractors and to check contractors out closely before hiring them to do repairs, according to Robert Latham, director...
AIA: Paper on Insurance Claims Handling is Reckless
Jan 12 2006 // A paper issued Thursday by Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR) is “untrue, irresponsible and reckless,” according to the American Insurance Association (AIA). “Tens of thousands of insurance company...
Allstate Limits Homeowners’ Business in N.Y. Coastal Areas
Jan 12 2006 // Allstate, New York State’s biggest writer of homeowners insurance, is pulling back from writing new business in New York metropolitan coastal areas in order to limit its exposure to future storm losses. The insurer...
U.S. Rep. Taylor Joins Lawsuit Against Mississippi Insurer
Jan 11 2006 // U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., has joined the thousands of Mississippians suing State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., challenging the insurance company’s refusal to cover property losses resulting from Hurricane...
Allstate Announces Rate Hikes Likely in Disaster Prone States
Jan 11 2006 // Allstate Corp. announced this week that customers living in areas hard-hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters, including North Carolina, are likely to see their premiums rise this year as a result of the...
Arson Alleged in Texas Wildfires
Jan 10 2006 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the State Fire Marshal’s office of the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Forest Service to...
Wildfire Outbreak in Ark. Forces Evacuations, Destroys Homes
Jan 10 2006 // Arkansas had its first major wildfire outbreak of the season as at least 43 fires blazed statewide, with one 3,000-acre arson fire in Ashley County that destroyed eight structures and forced evacuations still burning as of...
N.Y. State Senator Applauded for Bill Creating State CAT Fund
Jan 10 2006 // New York State Senator Michael Balboni (R-East Williston), a member of the Senate Insurance Committee, was applauded this week by an organization of first responders, emergency management experts, building officials and...
Wills Re Reviews 2005; Analyzes January Renewals
Jan 9 2006 // Willis Re, the reinsurance unit of the Willis Group, has issued a comprehensive report that reviews the current state of the reinsurance market in light of the past 18 months. While emphasizing that the Gulf hurricanes...
I.I.I. Says Record Mississippi Homeowners’ Claim Payments from 2005 Hurricanes
Jan 9 2006 // The record total of homeowners insurance claims payments resulting from the 2005 hurricanes in Mississippi is reportedly enough to wipe out all homeowners premiums paid in the state during the past 17 years. The magnitude...
Miss. Receiving $6.6M to Boost ‘Safe Room’ Program
Jan 9 2006 // In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and amidst the ongoing recovery effort, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and federal officials reported the funding of a $6.6 million grant program to help protect against...
‘EuroTempest’ Introduced to Forecast Potential Windstorm Damage
Jan 6 2006 // A team in the U.K. has produced a new wind damage prediction tool called EuroTempest, designed to provide local damage forecasts for European windstorms. An announcement on the Lloyd’s Website (www.lloyds.com) notes...
La. DOL: Fewer Hurricane-Related Unemployment Claims Being Paid
Jan 6 2006 // The number of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita victims continuing to receive unemployment benefits has dropped by over 100,000 since benefit claims peaked in early November, the Louisiana Department of Labor reported. Some...
Wildfires Decimating Budgets of Okla.’s Rural Fire Departments
Jan 6 2006 // Wildfires that have ravaged more than 350,000 acres across Oklahoma also are taking their toll on the budgets of rural fire departments. Rural volunteer departments this year have received only about one-fourth of their...
$565M Hurricane Prep Plan Budgets for Fla. Housing, Rental Recovery
Jan 6 2006 // Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has unveiled plans to prepare Florida for hurricanes by initiating housing programs to rebuild from past storms and survive future ones. The governor proposed an $808 million legislative agenda which...
U.K. Experts Warn of Continuing, Evolving Global Terrorist Threats
Jan 5 2006 // A leading U.K. intelligence expert and a specialist in terrorist underwriting at Hiscox Plc have warned that the threat of terrorism will not diminish in the year ahead with the continued potential for attacks around the...
