Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
14 South Floridians Indicted in Dade County for Filing False FEMA Claims
Mar 4 2005 // Fourteen South Floridaians were indicted this week for filing false claims to obtain Federal Emergency Management Authority grants and charged with federal wire and mail fraud. Federal legislators meeting in Washington...
Vanguard Fire & Casualty to Meet with Fla. CFO Regarding Hurricane Claims
Mar 3 2005 // On Thursday morning, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher held a news conference and expressed his desire to meet “eyeball-to-eyeball” with the heads of insurance companies to discuss open...
Study: About 11,000 Would Die in Tokyo Quake
Mar 1 2005 // About 11,000 people would die and Japan as a whole would suffer about $1.06 trillion in economic damage if a major earthquake were to strike Tokyo, a government disaster prevention panel said. The panel made its estimates...
Homeowners Insurance Costs Up by 2.5% in 2005; Smallest Increase in 6 years
Mar 1 2005 // Good news for homeowners this year came from the Insurance Information Institute, which projected that the cost of insuring homes will rise by only 2.5 percent in 2005, the smallest increase in six years. The projected...
Fla. CFO Reports Dates, Locations for Town Hall Meetings in Hurricane-Impacted Areas
Feb 28 2005 // Dates and locations for town hall meetings to assist Floridians still recovering from last year’s hurricanes have been announced by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher. The first meeting will be...
Ala. Commission Sets March 25 Deadline to Settle Hurricane Ivan Damage Claims
Feb 24 2005 // Insurance companies with unsettled claims from Hurricane Ivan have been given until March 25 to pay policyholders, or explain to Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell why the claims have not been paid. Once claims are...
