Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alabama School District Closes School Damaged by EF-2 Tornado
Jan 16 2020 // A north Alabama school district is closing some of its schools this week after a tornado caused heavy damage at an elementary school, the superintendent said. A twister that forecasters determined was an EF-2 with winds up...
Alaska School District Weighing Cost of Earthquake Relief
Jan 16 2020 // Negotiations between the Anchorage School District in Alaska and the federal government over earthquake damage relief could result in the district turning down millions in funds, an official said. The negotiations over...
Florida Legislative Session 2020: Insurance Bills to Watch
Jan 16 2020 // The Florida insurance industry will be focused on several key issues this session, including reform for auto glass (windshield) assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse, reforms to the state’s legal system, as well as...
Critics Say Puerto Rico Needs a Proactive Emergency Plan
Jan 15 2020 // More than two years ago, Hurricane Maria revealed that Puerto Rico was utterly unprepared for a powerful hurricane despite its location in one of the world’s most storm-vulnerable regions. Now, a flurry of...
Philippine Volcano Erupts, Forcing Evacuation of Thousands of Residents
Jan 14 2020 // A lock-down is being implemented by police in three towns in the Philippines near an erupting volcano, 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of capital Manila, to prevent residents from returning home as heavy ash fall and...
FEMA Administrator: We Want California Wildfire Costs From PG&E, Not Victims
Jan 13 2020 // A regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday said FEMA is going after California utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric for $3.9 billion owed the government due to wildfires that PG&E was...
7 Confirmed Tornadoes in Phoenix Metro Area Last Year
Jan 13 2020 // The National Weather Service reports there were seven confirmed tornadoes in Arizona’s Maricopa and Pinal counties last year, the most in nearly five decades. Meteorologists say last year’s total is second only...
Judge: Survivors of Tennessee Wildfire Can Sue National Park Service
Jan 13 2020 // Survivors of a historically deadly Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people can sue the National Park Service for failing to warn them of the danger, a federal judge has ruled. The fire began in the Great Smoky Mountains...
January 2020 Reinsurance Renewals Varied Significantly, Brokers Say
Jan 13 2020 // The January 2020 reinsurance renewals saw significant variation in pricing and capacity depending on geography, line of business, cedents’ loss record and client relationships, according to two reports published by...
Puerto Rico Hit with Second Earthquake on Southern Coast; 4,000 People in Shelters
Jan 12 2020 // A magnitude 5.9 quake shook Puerto Rico on Saturday (January 11) causing millions of dollars of damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools. The U.S....
Australia’s Bushfires Could Surpass 2009’s Costly Season; Analysts, Insurers Comment
Jan 10 2020 // Australia’s bushfire season has months to run and could easily surpass the most costly fire season, 2009’s Black Saturday fires in Victoria, which had a price tag of an estimated A$4.4 billion (US$3 billion),...
Carpenter’s Global Property Catastrophe Index Rises by 5% in January Renewals
Jan 10 2020 // Pricing corrections in the property catastrophe reinsurance market over the last few years have been localized and mitigated to some extent by sufficient levels of capacity, according to Guy Carpenter in its January...
More Than a Dozen Florida Insurers Facing Ratings Downgrades
Jan 9 2020 // The rating agency responsible for assigning financial stability ratings (FSR) to more than 40 Florida domestic insurers has warned that several carriers will receive downgrades due to deteriorating conditions in the...
New York Governor Lays out Aggressive Climate Change Plan
Jan 9 2020 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing an aggressive climate change-fighting campaign for his state that includes a $3-billion bond act that would be put on the ballot this November. Cuomo, who says that money would go to...
Hundreds Left Homeless, Thousands Without Power from Puerto Rico Earthquake
Jan 9 2020 // Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century. The magnitude...
Beazley and RenaissanceRe Launch Cyber Catastrophe Cover Backed by Capital Markets
Jan 9 2020 // Specialist insurer Beazley and reinsurer RenaissanceRe have jointly launched a product that provides Beazley with additional catastrophe cover for cyber events. The majority of the security behind the deal will be provided...
New Policy Contracts Now in Effect at Texas Windstorm Insurer
Jan 8 2020 // Texas’ insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the coast says new terms and conditions for policies with an effective date on or after January 1, 2020, are now in place. The updated coverages, terms, and...
Natural Catastrophes Cost $150B in 2019, with Insurers Paying $52B: Munich Re
Jan 8 2020 // Natural catastrophes caused overall losses of US$150 billion during 2019, including insured losses of about US$52 billion, which matches the average of the past 30 years, according to Munich Re’s catastrophe...
Tornado Damages Buildings in Central Florida City
Jan 7 2020 // The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in a central Florida community Saturday and caused around $20,000 in damage to city property. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado traveled a quarter...
Update: Australia’s Firefighters Take Advantage of Cooler Weather to Help Quell Wildfires
Jan 7 2020 // Firefighters are taking advantage of cooler weather to quell southeastern Australia’s wildfires that have killed at least 24 people and prompted stirring messages from stars at the Golden Globes. Some 130 blazes...
