Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
News Currents
Jun 19 2005 // Cat model reassessments cause rating and capital changes Last fall’s disastrous hurricanes provided some rough times for the catastrophe modeling industry. Consequently the principal cat modelers – Applied...
No Damages Reported in Recent California Earthquake
Jun 16 2005 // California residents are slowly adding up the number of earthquakes hitting on or off the coast of the Golden State during the month of June. On Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that a moderate quake of 5.3...
Recent Calif. Quakes a Reminder of Possible Financial Aftershocks
Jun 15 2005 // After two sizeable earthquakes in less than a week, Californians have had a jarring reminder of their unsettled landscape. But with less than 15 percent of California homeowners purchasing earthquake policies, are their...
Jury Selection Completed in Miami Hurricane Frances Fraud Case
Jun 15 2005 // U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga opened testimony Wednesday in a trial in which the defendant, Daniel Bellegarde, a resident of Homestead, Fla., allegedly bilked the Federal Emergency Management Agency of more...
Hurricane Exemptions Successful; Sponsors Plan Its Expansion in 2006
Jun 14 2005 // Although Florida’s sales tax exemptions on hurricane supplies ended Sunday, with no guarantees of reoccurring next year, the event was so popular that several legislators responsible for the event are pledging to...
IIAG Conferees Visited Exhibits, Watched Arlene During 108th Annual Convention
Jun 14 2005 // More than 700 Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia members attending the group’s 108th Annual Convention and Exhibition in Destin, Fla., watched closely as Tropical Storm Arlene sped toward the Florida Panhandle...
After Tropical Storm Arlene: Fla. Panhandle, Alabama Report Only Minimal Damage
Jun 12 2005 // Initial damage reports in Gulf Shores, Ala. were minimal after Tropical Storm Arlene came ashore on Saturday afternoon dropping more than 5 inches of rain and taking basically the same path as Hurricane Ivan last...
NHC Update on Tropical Storm Arlene
Jun 10 2005 // The National Hurricane Center’s latest bulletin on Tropical Storm Arlene indicates that it is following the storm track predicted in previous bulletins (See IJ Web site June 9). They indicate that Arlene will come...
Arlene Moves Inland Northwest of Pensacola, Fla.; Losing Strength
Jun 10 2005 // Tropical Storm Arlene moved inland at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon and proceeded northwest of Pensacola, Fla. Tropical storm and hurricane watches were cancelled all areas but those in the immediate vicinity of the storm....
ICT Issues Reminder on Hurricane Preparations as First Tropical Storm Heads Toward Gulf
Jun 10 2005 // The formation of Tropical Storm Arlene may be an ominous sign for what has been forecasted to be an overly active hurricane season this year. The six-month hurricane season began just days ago and weather experts say 2005...
Some Hawaiian Islands Declared Storm, Tsunami Ready
Jun 10 2005 // The federal government on Wednesday declared the City and County of Honolulu as TsunamiReady and StormReady – designations that could mean insurance savings for residents on Oahu’s flood plains. “We...
Tropical Storm Arlene Opens Season; Will Bring S.E. Rain, Coastal Flooding
Jun 9 2005 // Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named tropical storm of the 2005 hurricane season, is developing in the northwest Caribbean. Tropical storms have top sustained winds of 39 mph to 74 mph. NOAA forecasters predict the storm...
RMS Hurricane Model Gains Recertification from Fla. Commission
Jun 7 2005 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS) announced that the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology (FCHLPM) re-certified the RMS Hurricane model for use in establishing residential insurance rates in the state...
From Safe Rooms to Fabric Shutters, Hurricane Protection is Booming
Jun 6 2005 // Got an extra $125,000 lying around? Spending that much would get rid of boring, uncomfortable stays in shelters when the next monster hurricane hits. A pricey safe room by Acoustic Innovations Inc. is among the products...
Los Angeles Area Quake Could Result in 7,600 Dead; Major Property Damage
Jun 6 2005 // Potential earthquakes on the Puente Hills fault beneath the Los Angeles area could result in 3,000 to 18,000 fatalities, 142,000 to 735,000 displaced households, and more than $250 billion in total damages, according to...
Arizona Homeowners Sue Insurers Over Wildfire
Jun 6 2005 // Homeowners from a vacation mountaintop community northeast of Tucson began filing lawsuits accusing their insurance companies of failing to provide enough coverage on homes destroyed in a June 2003 wildfire. Seventy...
Renew TRIA Now
Jun 6 2005 // Mr. President, in 2002 I co-sponsored, and Congress passed, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, commonly referred to as TRIA. This important legislation provided a government backstop for the terrorism insurance market that...
Killer Tsunamis and the Marine Insurance Market
Jun 6 2005 // Early in the morning on Dec. 26, 2004, opposing subterranean tectonic plates deep beneath the Indian Ocean floor shifted in violent unison along a line about 300 miles long. The energy released was on par with a 50-kiloton...
From Safe Rooms to Fabric Shutters, Hurricane Protection is Booming
Jun 6 2005 // Got an extra $125,000 lying around? Spending that much would get rid of boring, uncomfortable stays in shelters when the next monster hurricane hits. A pricey safe room by Acoustic Innovations Inc. is among the products...
By Dave Kaiser
Jun 6 2005 // Associations Warn Agencies: The insurance industry’s response to the 2005 hurricane season has been noteworthy, with many professional associations emphasizing hurricane preparedness, urging members to have...
