Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Council Recommends $4B Plan to Safeguard Oregon from Wildfires
Sep 30 2019 // A task force created by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says climate change, overstocked forests and understaffed fire teams have placed Oregonians in extreme risk, necessitating a multi-billion-dollar program to safeguard the...
Insured Losses from Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$5 Billion to US$9 Billion: RMS
Sep 30 2019 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, has estimated that the insured loss from Typhoon Faxai will be between $5.0 and $9.0 billion (¥ 500 to ¥950 billion). This estimate includes property damage...
Strong E&S Premium Growth in Response to Weak Results; Top 15 E&S Writers: Fitch
Sep 30 2019 // Direct written premiums in the U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) lines market during 2018 grew at its greatest rate since 2012, increasing 11% and representing the eighth consecutive year of premium growth, according to...
Lawsuit Says Colorado Railroad Ignited Fires Prior to Wildfire
Sep 27 2019 // A federal lawsuit says nearly 50 fires in Colorado were ignited by a railroad company in the weeks leading up to a major wildfire. The Durango Herald reported Tuesday that The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad...
Parametric Catastrophe Facility CCRIF Pays US$12.8M to Bahamas for Dorian Damages
Sep 27 2019 // CCRIF has made two payouts to the government of The Bahamas totaling US$12.8 million in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, which caused widespread destruction in the northern part of the archipelago. The Bahamas has three...
U.S. Private Flood Insurance: The Journey to Build a New Market
Sep 27 2019 // Not long ago, private flood insurance was thought to be an impossible dream in the property/casualty sector. There were numerous arguments supporting the common wisdom that a meaningful market for residential flood...
Florida City Faces $200M in Repairs to Sewage, Water Line After Hurricane Michael
Sep 27 2019 // The biggest city devastated by Hurricane Michael last fall has had a recent series of sewage leaks, and local officials say it will cost more than $200 million to repair its sewage and water systems. Television station...
Death Toll from Northern California Wildfire Back Down to 85
Sep 26 2019 // The number of those who died in California’s deadliest wildfire is back down to 85 after authorities determined that a bone fragment previously classified as unidentified belongs to a victim named in January. The...
Minor Earthquake Confirmed in Northern Utah’s Box Elder County
Sep 26 2019 // A minor earthquake shook was confirmed in parts of Box Elder County in northern Utah. County spokesman Mitch Zundel said there were many reports of people feeling the quake of magnitude 3.9 at 10:15 a.m. MDT on Tuesday,...
RCV, ACV Policy Changes Are Coming, Texas Windstorm Insurer Says
Sep 26 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is alerting agents about an important, upcoming change to the policy conditions that determine how covered losses are settled. Current law says the type of loss settlement —...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: New Laws Bring Organizational Changes
Sep 25 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reports that working to implement new laws that change how TWIA does business and serves policyholders. The association recently issued the following update on a few...
PG&E Cuts Power to 48K California Customers to Avert Wildfire Risk
Sep 25 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to 48,200 customers in seven counties in California’s Sierra Foothills and North Bay overnight because of high fire danger. The majority of those affected by the power outage,...
Tropical Storm Jerry Takes Aim at Bermuda, Just Days After Humberto’s Battering
Sep 25 2019 // Bermudians secured homes and businesses on Tuesday as they prepared for the arrival of Tropical Storm Jerry just a few days after Hurricane Humberto battered the archipelago and briefly knocked out power for most...
Insurers Continue to Cover Beach Resorts Despite Spate of Caribbean Hurricanes
Sep 25 2019 // Frenchman’s Reef, the largest resort on St. Thomas, was smashed by Hurricane Irma, which breached roofs, caved in walls and felled trees across the oceanfront property. Two years later, the hotel remains closed as...
How U.S. Is Attempting to Manage Risk from ‘Insider’ Terrorist Threat in Aviation
Sep 25 2019 // The arrest of an airline mechanic suspected of being sympathetic with terrorists and charged with sabotaging a jetliner has renewed fear about the “insider threat” to aviation security. Despite security...
Hurricane Florence, A Year Later: Many North Carolinian’s Lack Resources to Recover
Sep 25 2019 // Tanika Outlaw was working as the food and beverage manager at the Doubletree Hotel in New Bern last September when Hurricane Florence began shoving feet of water into the city’s downtown area. Ultimately, the storm...
Thousands of Californians Face Power Shutoffs Due to Wildfire Risk
Sep 24 2019 // California utilities are warning that they may shut off electricity to thousands of customers across the state as hot, dry and windy weather raises the risk of another catastrophic wildfire sparked by a power...
Travelers Gives Agents Aerial Property Damage Viewer to Expedite Disaster Claims
Sep 24 2019 // Property/casualty insurer Travelers is now providing its insurance agents and brokers with before-and-after photos of areas affected by disasters. The Travelers Catastrophe Map Viewer provides access to searchable,...
Alaska Has This Year’s Most Expensive Wildfire in U.S.
Sep 24 2019 // The nation’s most expensive wildfire this year is one that has been burning for months on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The Swan Lake Fire has so far cost about $46 million to fight, according to the National...
Rethinking the Limits of Parametric Insurance
Sep 24 2019 // It’s time to rethink the limits of parametric insurance. The concept behind parametric insurance is not new. Insurance payouts automatically triggered by an event exceeding an index level have existed for decades....
