Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
FEMA Says Condo Owners Can Apply for Hurricane Wilma Assistance
Jan 5 2006 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency in Orlando, Fla. has reversed its position and is encouraging condominium associations needing financial assistance to repair roofs and other property destroyed or damaged by...
AG Warns Texans About Post-Wildfire Con Artists
Jan 5 2006 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott warned Texans who lost homes or other property to recent major wildfires across the state to be alert for unscrupulous operators offering to rebuild or repair fire-damaged...
Analysts Predict Faster P/C Premium Growth, Underwriting Profit in 2006
Jan 5 2006 // Record catastrophe losses will weigh heavily on 2005’s underwriting results, pushing what would have been the industry’s largest underwriting profit ever into a loss situation, according to the Insurance...
Miss. Legislative Sessions Begin, PCI Pushes for Stronger Building Codes
Jan 5 2006 // 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 meeting in Jackson during the 2006...
I.I.I.: Claims in Louisiana Equal to 25 Years of State’s Homeowners Premiums
Jan 5 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...
Minor Earthquake Hits Illinois, Tremors Reported in Indiana, Kentucky
Jan 4 2006 // A minor earthquake hit a small town in southern Illinois yesterday, raising questions again about the threat of a major earthquake for states sitting on or near the New Madrid fault line. The quake struck yesterday at 3:48...
RMS: New TRIA Structure Shifts Risk Burden to Insurance Industry
Jan 4 2006 // Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS) recently assessed the risk of terrorism and quantified how the terms of the December 2005 renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) would shift the relative...
Ala., Miss., La. Black Lawmakers Mull Hurricane Recovery Policy
Jan 4 2006 // Black lawmakers from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama say the three states should work together – rather than against each other – on issues such as hurricane recovery. “We can all empathize with each...
Treasury Issues Guidance on 2005 Terrorism Insurance
Jan 4 2006 // The Treasury Department issued interim guidance to assist the insurance industry in meeting new requirements for the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. On December 22, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Terrorism Risk...
Tropical Storm Zeta Roils the Atlantic
Jan 3 2006 // The “hurricane season” ends in November – right? Maybe not. Miami’s National Hurricane Center is currently tracking Tropical Storm Zeta – the latest (earliest?) tropical cyclone ever recorded...
AAIS Says Policy Forms OK for Use Under Terrorism Extension
Jan 3 2006 // Insurers including those writing farm and crime coverages that use programs developed by the American Association of Insurance Services will require no immediate changes to existing endorsements and other materials to...
Wisconsin Insurance Rates Likely Not Impacted by Hurricane Katrina
Jan 3 2006 // This year, businesses and consumers will help insurers pay for last year’s estimated $57.6 billion in storm-related losses such as Hurricane Katrina through higher property and casualty insurance policy rates, the...
Agents, Brokers, Carriers: Insurance Outlook Good for 2006
Jan 2 2006 // With the insurance industry surviving a year filled with catastrophe losses and the challenge of reauthorizing the terrorism reinsurance backstop legislation, the prospects still seem bright for 2006 according to agents,...
Boat Buyers Warned to Avoid Hurricane-Damaged Vessels
Jan 2 2006 // Inexperienced boat buyers are being warned by marine and insurance officials on the Gulf Coast to avoid purchasing hurricane-damaged vessels at auction. Robert Hartwig, the chief economist at the Insurance Information...
