Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
The State of the Surplus Lines Market with Michael J. Hall
Sep 30 2002 // Insurance Journal publisher Mark Wells recently spoke with Michael J. Hall, chairman of M.J. Hall & Company Inc. and president of Golden Bear Insurance Company, both headquartered out of Stockton, Calif. Hall shared...
Securing Building Sites in the Wake of Sept. 11
Sep 30 2002 // With the remembrance of the events of Sept. 11, building and site security has become an increasingly important issue to companies all over the nation and the world. Nowadays, it is simply not prudent to be lax on...
Hurricane Update – Isidore, Lili and Kyle
Sep 26 2002 // Tropical storm Isidore came ashore in southern Louisiana around 1:00 a.m. this morning, hitting the New Orleans area with heavy rains and high winds, but so far causing only relatively minor damage. One small tornado was...
Isidore Turns North, Threatens U.S. Gulf Coast
Sep 25 2002 // Hurricane Isidore, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, is currently over the Gulf of Mexico, but its on track to hit the U.S. somewhere between Florida and Texas as early as tomorrow night. After causing...
Indiana Tornado Losses Will Prove Costly
Sep 25 2002 // The tornadoes that ripped through Indiana last week will prove costly. Preliminary estimates put the costs of repairing the damages in Marion County alone at $29,797,800. An article in the Indianapolis Star reported that a...
Primary Carriers Note Restrictions on Personal Lines Terrorism Reinsurance
Sep 25 2002 // Property & Casualty insurers are reporting that reinsurers are imposing a number of the same types of terrorism exclusions and limitations in personal lines that are being put into action for commercial lines. The...
NAII Pens Letter to Congress for federal terrorism reinsurance backstop
Sep 24 2002 // Insurance markets for terrorism coverage remain troubled particularly for commercial property, workers’ compensation and group life markets, according to the National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII)....
Indiana Tornado Causes Widespread Damage, No Lives Lost
Sep 23 2002 // A series of powerful tornadoes ripped through central Indiana on Friday afternoon causing widespread damage, but miraculously no lives were lost and no serious injuries were reported. The storms, which are unusual at this...
Hurricane Isidore Hits Yucatan, Killing 4, May Move North
Sep 23 2002 // Hurricane Isidore smashed into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday, packing 110 mph winds and dropping 12 to 20 inches of rain in some spots. Four persons were reported killed in storm related auto accidents. After...
RMS Unveils Game Theory-Based Terrorism Risk Model
Sep 19 2002 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS), has launched its U.S. Terrorism Risk model, a model designed to assist property, workers’ compensation, and life insurers and reinsurers in quantifying the risk from catastrophic...
New Guy Carpenter Study Finds Reinsurance Markets Worldwide Hardened in 2002; Rates Increased in All Regions for Virtual
Sep 17 2002 // Rates in 2002 for reinsurance covering the property catastrophe risks of insurance companies increased in all regions for virtually all insurance companies, according to a new report by Guy Carpenter & Co., Inc. The...
Terrorism Insurance Remains Elusive
Sep 12 2002 // Terrorism coverage remains limited to large commercial property holders, one year after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to an article in the Washington Post. American International Group (AIG) CEO Maurice Greenberg said...
So. Korea Insurers Estimate Typhoon Claims at $130 Million
Sep 10 2002 // South Korea’s property/casualty insurers have estimated that they will pay 156.3 billion won (around $130 million) in claims for damages caused by typhoon Rusa, which struck the country last week (See IJ Website...
$20 Million Damage Estimate from Wisconsin Tornado
Sep 5 2002 // A tornado that ripped through the town of Ladysmith in Wisconsin’s Rusk County on Labor Day caused an estimated $20 million in damages. According to a report from the Associated Press local authorities estimated the...
AIR Releases Terrorism Loss Estimation Model
Sep 4 2002 // Boston-based AIR Worldwide, which is now a subsidiary group within the ISO, announced the release of the “AIR Terrorism Loss Estimation Model.” “The new catastrophe model, the first commercially available...
Weiss Ratings Says Domestic Insurers Report Net Claims of $8.5 Billion from Sept. 11 Attacks
Sep 4 2002 // The nation’s property and casualty insurers reported $8.47 billion in net claims (1) arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to research by Weiss Ratings Inc. Two groups of insurance companies,...
At Least 50 Die as Typhoon Ravages So. Korea
Sep 2 2002 // Typhoon Rusa battered the So. Korean peninsula over the weekend with 130 mph winds and torrential rains, leaving at least 50 persons dead and many more missing, in what authorities described as the most severe storm in 40...
Sept. 11 Revisited: The Future of the Industry
Sep 2 2002 // When the nation awoke on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, little did it know that the events over the next few hours would change its lives forever. Not only were there thousands of lives lost and injured, but many more...
Exclusions Persist as Congress Debates Federal Terrorism Backstop Legislation
Sep 2 2002 // Nearly a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the issue of federal insurance backstop legislation to protect carriers against future losses stemming from more attacks remains a crucial yet unresolved issue for the...
Adjusting Our Focus
Sep 2 2002 // It was a beautiful fall morning. I had been running late, and then had gotten lost in the rolling hills of Northern New Jersey on the way to a meeting, but the cool breeze brushed away my concerns. The meeting was a...
