Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance-Related Subjects Top Florida Legislature’s To-Do List
Mar 21 2005 // The Florida Legislature began its spring session March 8 with insurance-related topics expected to take the limelight with several dozen proposals before the governing body, ranging from giving consumers more tools to...
Commissioner Bell to Chair Ala. ‘Insurance Hurricane Issues Task Force’
Mar 21 2005 // Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter A. Bell has been named to chair a 20-member “Insurance Hurricane Issues Task Force” formed by Gov. Bob Riley to study hurricane insurance issues in coastal Alabama. Members...
Fla. Cabinet’s Emergency Rule ‘Holds Insurers Feet to the Fire’ to Expedite Open Hurricane Claims
Mar 18 2005 // In response to a call by the Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet has approved an emergency rule to expedite the resolution of open claims from last year’s tropical...
Business Leaders Warn of ‘Rolling Crisis’ As Federal Terror Insurance Program Nears Expiration
Mar 18 2005 // U.S. business leaders came out in force this week to urge renewal of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and warn that market restrictions on terror insurance coverage are already beginning to be felt in the...
Munich Re Posts $2.44 Billion 2004 Group Net Profit
Mar 16 2005 // Germany’s Munich Re Group celebrated its 125th anniversary year in style, recovering from a 434 million euro ($578 million) loss in 2003 to post 2004 net profits of 1.833 billion euros ($2.44 billion) despite a...
AIA: House Hearing on Port Safety Offers Rationale for Extension of Federal Terrorism Insurance Backstop
Mar 15 2005 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) expressed hope that a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday focused on U.S. port security will provide federal policymakers with insights about the urgent need to extend the nation’s...
Quanta Posts $14.4 Million Q4 Loss; $54.6 Million Full Year Net Loss
Mar 15 2005 // Bermuda’s Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd. reported that its net loss for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $14.4 million, or $0.25 per diluted share. This compares to a net loss of $37.4 million, or $0.66 per diluted...
Computer Models Reassess Fla. Hurricane Risk Following Busy 2004 Season
Mar 14 2005 // New computer models show higher chances of hurricane strikes to Florida, and a 3.9 percent increase in predicted losses. In parts of the state, particularly Escambia County, the program boosts predicted losses as much as...
Hurricanes Lower Hiscox 2004 Profits to $148 Million
Mar 14 2005 // U.K. insurer Hiscox plc reported a drop in profits for 2004 of around 8 percent, posting a net figure of £77 million ($148.1 million), compared to £83.4 million ($160.5 million) in 2003, as losses from the Florida...
“Supervolcanoes:” A Potential Global Catastrophe
Mar 11 2005 // As if the world’s increasingly violent weather weren’t enough (See previous article), the BBC is set to air a two part documentary on the potential threat of mass destruction posed by...
Aon Units Release Global Climate/Catastrophe Report
Mar 11 2005 // Two Aon subsidiaries, Aon Re Global and Impact Forecasting, LLC, have released a report on 2004’s natural catastrophes, describing “a year of freakish weather patterns, ending with the worst natural disaster in...
Ala. Homeowners Concerned About Possibility of Losing Hurricane Coverage
Mar 10 2005 // Rumors that several insurance companies plan to drop hurricane coverage in Mobile, Ala. has consumers abuzz and requests being made to the Alabama Legislature to do something to prevent homeowners from losing their...
New House Bill to Extend TRIA Introduced as Deadline Looms
Mar 9 2005 // The House of Representatives has introduced legislation that would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire at the end of 2005. The proposal, H.R. 1153, would keep a federal terrorism...
Fla. Homeowner Arrested for False Hurricane Claim
Mar 9 2005 // A Cocoa Beach, Fla. homeowner is facing a felony charge for filing a false insurance claim allegedly claiming that renovation work to his home was the result of hurricane damage. Robert Milliken of 744 S. Orlando Ave. #...
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett on Insurance Economics and 2004 Results
Mar 8 2005 // By Chairman Warren Buffett’s own admission, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. did not have one of its best years in 2004. Last year, Berkshire’s book-value gain of 10.5% fell short of the S&P 500 Index’s 10.9%...
90 Days Until Hurricane Season: Fla. Legislators Hope to Solve Problems
Mar 7 2005 // With less than 90 days to go until the 2005 hurricane season begins, Florida legislators are scrambling to solve a wide-variety of hurricane-related problems: Getting insurance claims settled; solving problems with...
Hurricane Experts Unsure About 2005
Mar 7 2005 // Support Windstorm Impact Reduction Program Hurricane expert Max May-field and Rep. Jim Davis attempted to make long-range predictions about future events that will affect the Florida insurance industry during the annual...
S&P REPORT SAYS HURRICANE LOSSES PUT PRESSURE ON INSURERS’ EQUITY:
Mar 7 2005 // The shareholders’ equity of many insurers and reinsurers is coming under greater pressure than anticipated as P/C losses from the 2004 hurricane season continue to rise with new estimates, according to a report by...
Killer Tsunamis and the Marine Insurance Market
Mar 7 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...
NCOIL Task Force on Terrorism Backs TRIA’s Reinstatement
Mar 4 2005 // With the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act expiring at the end of this year, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators Task Force on Terrorism agreed during meetings in Hilton Head, S.C. to resurrect a resolution...
