Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Eyes Climate Bond to Prepare For Disasters
Jan 6 2020 // In a state burdened by billions of dollars in wildfire damage, California lawmakers are hoping for an advance loan before the next climate-fueled catastrophe hits. Lawmakers in the Democratic-dominated state Legislature...
Pool Re Takes Steps to Make Terrorism Cover More Accessible to U.K. Businesses
Jan 6 2020 // Pool Re, Britain’s leading terrorism reinsurer, announced it is taking steps to help reduce costs and improve the accessibility of terrorism insurance for businesses in the U.K., in part by expanding the definition...
January 2020 Reinsurance Renewals Varied Significantly, Brokers Say
Jan 6 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...
Australia Sees No End to Unprecedented Wildfire Crisis
Jan 6 2020 // Exhausted firefighters welcomed cooler weather and patchy rain in blaze-ravaged southeastern Australia Monday after a calamitous few days, even as authorities warn of a return to dangerous conditions later this week. With...
U.K. MGA Optio Buys Political Violence and Terrorism MGA, Newbridge Risk Partners
Jan 3 2020 // Optio, the London-based MGA that comprises Ascent Underwriting, Cove Programs and broker Bay Risk Services, announced it has acquired specialist political-violence and terrorism MGA Newbridge Risk Partners from Castel...
Update: The Escalating Costs of Australia’s Wildfire Disaster
Jan 3 2020 // Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world’s driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the...
Australia Breaks Records for High Temperatures, Low Rainfall as Wildfires Keep Raging
Jan 2 2020 // As massive wildfires devastate swathes of Australia and supercharge the debate over the impact of climate change, government data show the nation has never suffered a hotter or drier year than 2019. The average temperature...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 West Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // California wildfires dominated the news in Insurance Journal’s Western region in 2019, despite it being a quiet year relative to two consecutive years of deadly blazes that came before. Three of the year’s top...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 Southeast Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It was a relatively quiet year for the Southeast in terms of major catastrophes compared with 2018 when Hurricane’s Michael and Florence caused major damage in the region. This year, Hurricane Dorian sideswiped the...
Operational Changes Coming for 2020 for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
Dec 31 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has posted on its website a summary of operational and policy changes that go into effect in 2020 as a result of new laws passed in 2019 by the state’s Legislature. Following...
Australia’s Wildfire Crisis Intensifies as Locals, Tourists Seek Refuge on Beaches
Dec 31 2019 // Australia’s wildfire crisis intensified on Tuesday as coastal towns across the southeast caught ablaze, forcing thousands of stranded tourists and locals to seek refuge on beaches. Thick black smoke billowing from...
Typhoon Phanfone Kills at Least 41 in Philippines, Destroys Homes, Crops
Dec 30 2019 // Typhoon Phanfone killed at least 41 people when it slammed into the central Philippines on Christmas Eve, with dozens still injured or missing, according to the agency which oversees disaster response. The 21st cyclone to...
Thousands of Tourists Evacuated as Wildfires Sweep Through Southeast Australia
Dec 30 2019 // Thousands of holiday-makers have evacuated a popular tourist spot in southeast Australia as a heatwave and strong winds fuel wildfires sweeping through the region. But with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104...
Tornado Warning Sirens Failed to Sound Before Deadly Alabama Twister
Dec 27 2019 // Warning sirens failed to sound before a tornado struck a north Alabama community last week, killing two people, but officials said it probably wouldn’t have mattered even if they had. The area where an EF-2 tornado...
Alaska Earthquake Sensors Require More Funding to Maintain
Dec 27 2019 // A project that maintains seismic monitoring stations in Alaska needs more funding to continue fully operating, officials said. Scientists, lawmakers and federal agencies are promoting the permanent installation of the...
Insured Property Losses for December 2018 Sydney Hailstorms Rise to A$798M: PERILS
Dec 27 2019 // The fourth and final insured property loss estimate for the hailstorms that hit the greater Sydney region in December 2018 rose to A$798 million ($553.2 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based...
$584B at Risk From Cat Events in 2020: University of Cambridge Study
Dec 27 2019 // Providing an annual update of its study of the impact of catastrophic events on global GDP, researchers from the University of Cambridge find that roughly $584 billion could be wiped from the global economy from such...
Texas House Committee Hearing on Windstorm Insurance Legislation Set for Jan. 15
Dec 27 2019 // The insurance committee in the Texas House of Representatives will hold a hearing on Jan. 15 to consider the state of rulemaking and other governmental actions with regard to legislation passed in 2019 affecting...
Vatican Tribunal Processes ‘Tsunami’ of Clergy Sex Abuse Complaints
Dec 24 2019 // The Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints saw a record 1,000 cases reported from around the world this year – and still some regions that haven’t reported any allegations at all. The...
