Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Top 10 Stories of 2001

Dec 17 2001 // Recollections and Renewal: Looking Back at 2001 with an Eye to the Future This is the year that was. It is one that many people will be glad to see come to an end because the new year always brings hope—for a rebirth,...

RIMS Tells NY Assembly to Support Adoption of Federal Terrorism Law

Dec 14 2001 // The Risk and Insurance Management Society urged the members of the New York State Assembly Insurance Committee not to permit terrorist exclusions at the state level, but to work with insurance industry leaders to assure...

AIA Testimony Calls for Protection against Future Terrorist Attacks

Dec 13 2001 // Insurers are fully meeting their promises to policyholders in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; however, a federal backstop is needed to provide protection against future terrorist...

House Passes Terrorism Risk Protection Act, Attention Now Turns to Senate

Dec 10 2001 // In what is viewed by many leading insurance industry organizations as a significant step in the right direction, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Terrorism Risk Protection Act (HR 3210) by a vote of 227-193 on...

I.I.I. Sees Little Impact Sept. 11 Losses on 2002 Auto, Homeowners

Dec 7 2001 // Insurance losses from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the largest loss in insurance history, will have little impact on the cost of auto and homeowners insurance next year, according to the Insurance Information Institute...

Calif. Industry Said to Be Prepared for Future Disasters

Dec 6 2001 // Representatives of the insurance industry testified Wednesday before the California Assembly Insurance Committee concerning insurance and reinsurance after the attack on America. They noted that the Sept. 11 attack was...

EQECAT Sponsors Innovations in Catastrophe Management Conference

Dec 5 2001 // EQECAT, a catastrophe modeler and consultant to the insurance and financial services industry, will sponsor a conference titled “Innovations in Catastrophe Management” in Ft. Myers, Fla., on March 3-6, 2002....

TSR Predicts Active Atlantic Hurricane Season

Dec 4 2001 // The London-based tropical Storm Risk Consortium (TSR) has issued a bulletin predicting that the number of Atlantic storms in 2002 will be above average, and that at least two hurricanes will strike the U.S. “TSR...

Munich Re Posts $1 Billion 3Q Loss, Comments on Terrorism Coverage

Nov 30 2001 // Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, suffered a commensurately large loss in the 3rd quarter of €1.2 billion ($1.05 billion) after tax. In addition to the estimated €2.1 billion ($1.85 billion) losses...

House Passes Terrorism Reinsurance Bill

Nov 30 2001 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Terrorism Risk Protection Act (HR 3210) by one vote of 227-193 on the afternoon of Nov. 29. According to the Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA), the legislation...

Sustained Consolidation Predicted as a Result

Nov 29 2001 // The insurance industry has entered a period of sustained consolidation, both domestically and internationally, as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a year-end forecast by the Transaction Services group at...

U.S. Financial Firms, Law Enforcement Seek Ways to Track Terrorists

Nov 28 2001 // The leading U.S. financial firms and law enforcement agencies are mulling over an agreement that would give authorities sweeping power to track terrorists using the financial system, the Wall Street Journal reported. The...

House Likely to Move on Terrorism Bill

Nov 20 2001 // The House will move swiftly after the Thanksgiving recess to put into law a terrorism insurance bill aimed at preventing an economic crisis if coverage is not available after Jan. 1. According to The Washington Post,...

Insurers Seek Permission From State Regulators to Exclude Terrorism

Nov 19 2001 // In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, insurance companies have begun seeking permission from state regulators to exclude terrorism coverage from a number of policies in 2002, including home, auto and life....

S&P: Company Ratings Could Suffer in Federal-State Squeeze on Terrorism Risk

Nov 13 2001 // Commercial insurers face a potentially untenable situation if the federal government fails to pass legislation that would help cushion terrorism costs to the industry by the end of November, and if state insurance...

IIAA Looks at Terrorism Bill Vote as Momentum Builder

Nov 13 2001 // A vote by the House Financial Services Committee last week to approve legislation to aid insurance consumers following future terrorist attacks serves as a momentum builder on Capitol Hill, according to Independent...

The View from Up There-Insurers Embrace Space Age Technologies

Nov 12 2001 // The key witness in a recent crop fraud case turned out to be a camera. In June 2001, a U.S. District judge in Arkansas ruled against several farmers accused of filing false crop insurance claims totaling approximately...

NAIC SPRV Model Provides Added Tool to Manage Risk for Natural Catastrophes

Nov 5 2001 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) adoption of the Special Purpose Reinsurance Vehicle (SPRV) Model Act will provide a template for states to create legislation that will enable onshore...

Industry Pays First $10 Billion of Future Terror Claims in Latest Fed Plan

Nov 5 2001 // The Bush administration and Congressional leaders hammered out a new version of a plan to provide reinsurance assistance to the U.S. insurance industry in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, although...

NAMIC Addresses Capital Markets Panel Examining Availability of Terrorism Insurance

Nov 2 2001 // The executive vice president & general manager of North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company will address the House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee today on behalf of the National Association...