Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Budget Aims to Tackle Climate Change, Wildfires, Crime
Jan 12 2022 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $286.4 billion budget that sets off months of budget talks with his fellow Democrats, who control the state Legislature, before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Newsom focused much...
AM Best Says Demand Surge and Inflation to Amplify Colorado Wildfire Losses
Jan 12 2022 // AM Best expects demand surge and rising inflationary pressures on building costs to add to overall loss estimates in the recent wildfires in Colorado. In a commentary AM Best notes that early industry estimates place...
LDI Affirmed in State Farm Hurricane Barry Deductible Case
Jan 11 2022 // A Louisiana administrative hearings panel has ruled that Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon was justified in preventing State Farm from enforcing a hurricane deductible for certain losses caused by Hurricane Barry in July...
Pandemic Adding Cost to Rebuild After Colorado Wildfire
Jan 11 2022 // Rex and Barba Hickman’s home of 23 years near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains has been reduced to a blackened heap by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. Before the Dec. 30 blaze, which ripped...
Kentucky Lawmakers Plan to Move Quickly on Tornado Recovery Package
Jan 11 2022 // Kentucky lawmakers, back in session, are planning to take up tornado-recovery legislation this week, with the goal of quickly distributing an initial round of assistance, House Speaker David Osborne said. The newly...
Tornadoes Reported in Houston, Northwest Louisiana
Jan 11 2022 // At least two tornadoes touched down in the Houston area over the weekend as storms brought high winds and heavy rains, damaging homes and businesses and causing flooding. Most of the damage from the storms that came...
HUD Suspends Funding for Hurricane Harvey Assistance
Jan 10 2022 // The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development has halted the distribution of $1.95 billion that was approved for flood mitigation projects in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. A news release from HUD said the Texas...
Colorado Wildfire Caused $513M in Damage, Officials Say
Jan 10 2022 // Last week’s Colorado wildfire caused at least $513 million in damage and destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and structures, officials as they updated the toll of property lost in the most destructive wildfire in state...
More South Carolina Earthquakes Leave Experts Puzzled
Jan 7 2022 // After more earthquakes have struck near South Carolina’s capital city, the ninth and tenth in a series of rumblings, geologists are asking how long the convulsions might last, or if they could possibly portend more...
Modeler Estimates Insured Losses From Colorado Wildfire at $1B
Jan 6 2022 // The Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in late December will result in roughly $1 billion in losses, according to a report from catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. On Dec. 30, a devastating...
Premium Finance Companies Can Extend Payment Deadlines After Kentucky Tornadoes
Jan 5 2022 // Premium finance companies are permitted to extend due dates for premiums and other charges in the wake of tornadoes that ripped through the state in December, the Kentucky insurance commissioner announced. Finance...
Investigators Narrow Search for Origin of Massive Colorado Wildfire
Jan 4 2022 // Investigators looking for the cause of the Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes have narrowed their search to a sparsely populated neighborhood near Boulder where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed...
2 Still Missing in Colorado Wildfire; Cause Under Investigation
Jan 4 2022 // Search teams looked for two missing people in the smoldering debris from a massive Colorado wildfire while people who escaped the flames sorted through the charred remnants of their homes to find what was...
COVID-19 Claims of $44B Are 3rd Largest Catastrophe Loss: Howden
Jan 4 2022 // Insured losses of $44 billion from COVID-19 so far represent the third largest cost to insurers of any catastrophe, behind Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks, insurance broker Howden said on Tuesday. However, initial...
Climate Change, New Construction Mean More Destructive Wildfires in West
Jan 3 2022 // The winter grassland fire that blew up along Colorado’s Front Range was rare, experts say, but similar events will be more common in the coming years as climate change warms the planet – sucking the moisture out of...
Judge Holds Skanska Negligent for Barge Damage During Florida Hurricane
Dec 30 2021 // A federal judge has found that Skanksa USA, part of one of the largest construction companies in the world, failed to secure its barges before a 2020 Florida hurricane hit. The ruling opens the door to hundreds of lawsuits...
More Minor Earthquakes Shake Parts of South Carolina
Dec 30 2021 // Six more minor earthquakes were reported in South Carolina this week, potentially raising new demand for earthquake insurance. The U.S. Geological Survey said that Wednesday’s 2.3 magnitude earthquake hit around 4:12...
Machine Learning Improves Lightning Prediction, Leading to Insight on a Key Wildfire Spark
Dec 29 2021 // Lightning’s destructive potential was showcased in 2020 when it sparked the massive California Lightning Complex fires, but it remains hard to predict. According to a new study led by the University of Washington,...
Western Kansas Ranches Face Long Recovery after Wildfires
Dec 28 2021 // Ranchers in western Kansas have begun to recover from the deadly wildfires that torched their land earlier this month, but they acknowledge it will be a long process. Two men died and the Kansas Forest Service estimates...
NWS Says December Storm Spawned 8 Tornadoes Across Wisconsin
Dec 28 2021 // The National Weather Service has confirmed a rare December wind storm spawned eight tornadoes across west-central Wisconsin. .The Dec. 15 storm swept across multiple states. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the...
