Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
1st Tropical Storm of Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season Floods Part of Central America
Jun 2 2020 // The first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific season drenched parts of Central America Sunday and officials in El Salvador said at least seven people had died in flooding. President Nayib Bukele decreed a 15-day state of...
Florida Cat Fund Foregoes Private Reinsurance for 2020 Hurricane Season
Jun 2 2020 // Reinsurance coverage for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund will not be purchased for the upcoming hurricane season after overseers of the fund evaluated the market and found a lack of private capital availability. In...
Lexington Insurance Wins Texas Battle of Hurricane Harvey Deductibles
Jun 1 2020 // In a case of competing deductibles, a federal appeals court has sided with an insurer and against the owner of two Houston office buildings, holding that a larger windstorm deductible applied to flood damage caused by...
Ecoroofs, Bioswales, Water Gardens: Cities Get Creative To Tame Stormwater Floods
Jun 1 2020 // For more than a century, New Orleans has depended on canals and pumps to get rid of stormwater in a city where about half the land is below sea level. Now the bustling Mississippi River port that expanded by filling in...
Pandemic-Hit Re/insurers Expect a Costly Hurricane Season – and Rates Are Rising
Jun 1 2020 // The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season on Monday could signal more steep losses for insurers and reinsurers, already battered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their underwriting and investment...
Coronavirus Could Complicate Hurricane Response, Warns Catastrophe Modeler
Jun 1 2020 // “Hurricanes and COVID-19 are not a good mix,” says catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co., warning in a report that the pandemic will make what forecasters already predict to be an above-average...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Lays Out Funding Plan for 2020 Hurricane Season
Jun 1 2020 // The board of directors of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in the state’s coastal counties in February set a goal of $4.2 billion in catastrophe funding for 2020. At a meeting of the...
California Approves PG&E Bankruptcy Plan With Oversight, Safety Conditions
May 29 2020 // California regulators approved PG&E Corp.’s $58 billion reorganization plan, bringing the power giant another step closer to exiting the biggest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. The state’s Public...
Survey: Florida Residents More Concerned for Hurricane Season Amid Pandemic
May 29 2020 // As Florida gets ready to officially start hurricane season, a new survey shows a majority of residents are more concerned for this year’s potential storms than in previous years, given the simultaneous continuing...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Outlines Funding for 2020 Hurricane Season
May 29 2020 // The board of directors of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in the state’s coastal counties in February set a goal of $4.2 billion in catastrophe funding for 2020. At a meeting of the...
California Lawmakers Move Toward Risk-Based Rates
May 28 2020 // As the Soviet Union ultimately learned the hard way, price controls are a guaranteed way to prolong shortages. It has taken a few years, but there are promising signs California lawmakers may finally be ready to learn the...
Tornadoes Rake Parts of Iowa in 2 Days of Severe Weather
May 28 2020 // At least four tornadoes raked parts of Iowa on May 26, the National Weather Service confirmed, to give the state a second day of severe weather. All of the tornadoes appeared to be weak and in mostly uninhabited areas that...
Australia’s 4 Summer Natural Disasters Cost Insurers More Than US$3.44 Billion
May 28 2020 // The cost of insurance claims from four natural catastrophes during Australia’s 2019-2020 summer has passed A$5.19 billion (US$3.44 billion), said the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). Thousands of new claims and...
Tropical Storm Bertha to Bring Heavy Rain to South Carolina
May 27 2020 // A tropical storm that quickly formed off the coast of South Carolina on Wednesday threatened to unleash heavy rainfall that could produce life-threatening flash flooding after making landfall near Charleston, the National...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Files Replacement Cost Policy Form Revisions
May 27 2020 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has filed the following revised endorsements with the Texas Department of Insurance for approval: Revised Endorsement No. 164 – Replacement Cost Coverage – Coverage A...
Lawmaker Details Federal Reinsurance for Pandemic Business Interruption, Event Losses
May 27 2020 // New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has introduced the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020, a federal backstop for pandemic-related business interruption insurance modeled after the Terrorism Risk Insurance...
Texas DOI Takes Over More Windstorm Compliance Certifications on June 1
May 26 2020 // The Texas Department of Insurance will soon be taking on additional responsibility for issuing Certificates of Compliance for coverage from the state’s insurer of last resort for wind and hail for properties in areas...
North Texas Region Pummeled by Large Hail, Tornadoes
May 26 2020 // Storms carrying large hail and damaging winds, including tornadoes, caused severe damage to parts of North Texas, officials said on May 23. The town of Bowie, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth, was...
Residents in Small Alaska Town Feel Moderate Earthquake
May 26 2020 // People in Kodiak City reported early Saturday that they felt a moderate earthquake that struck the Kodiak Island region, the Alaska Earthquake Center confirmed. The magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit at 12:52 a.m. Saturday and...
EU Urged to Create Insurance Catastrophe Backstop for Pandemics, Huge Cyber Attacks
May 26 2020 // A European Union framework is needed to provide insurance cover for catastrophes such as pandemics and huge cyber attacks, the Federation of European Risk Management (FERMA) said on Tuesday. This would involve...
