Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Ensurance Expands Terrorism, Sabotage Coverage to US; Hires 2 New Underwriters

Jul 24 2019 // Ensurance, the specialist MGA and Lloyd’s of London Coverholder, has launched a new terrorism and sabotage insurance offering for the U.S. market. The product will support the U.S. property market and is backed by an...

Worley, Brown Launch Legion Claims Solutions in Louisiana

Jul 23 2019 // Legion Claims Solutions LLC (Legion), a firm specializing in the management of catastrophe insurance claims, environmental/industrial claims, and governmental disaster recovery programs, has opened in Baton Rouge,...

Clearing Large Swaths of Land Part of Plan to Slow Western Wildfires

Jul 23 2019 // The Trump administration is proposing an ambitious plan to slow Western wildfires by bulldozing, mowing or revegetating large swaths of land along 11,000 miles of terrain in the West. The plan announced this summer would...

Travelers Profit Up 6.3% in Q2 on Lower Catastrophe Losses, Higher Investments

Jul 23 2019 // The Travelers Companies managed to boost its net income to $557 million for the second quarter, six percent more than the $524 million in the prior year quarter. The insurer reported lower catastrophe losses and higher net...

New Barry Insured Loss Estimate: Not More Than $500M, RMS Says

Jul 23 2019 // Global risk modeling and analytics firm, RMS, has estimated that the insured U.S. losses from Hurricane Barry will not exceed $500 million. This estimate represents insured losses associated with wind, storm surge and...

California Earthquake Authority Board Expands Policyholder Eligibility for Retrofit Grants

Jul 22 2019 // The governing board of the California Earthquake Authority has voted to increase the number of policyholders eligible for a $3,000 retrofit grant. The CEA board voted to make the grant available to roughly 30,000 CEA...

Louisiana Ag Officials: Hurricane Barry Farm Damage Fairly Local

Jul 22 2019 // Louisiana farmers say they’ve never seen storm damage worse than Hurricane Barry left behind, but the LSU AgCenter says that statewide crop damage was minimal. AgCenter and federal Farm Service Agency workers are...

Town Leveled by California Wildfire Reopens Its Public Pool

Jul 22 2019 // The public swimming pool in Paradise, California, is reopening for the first time since a catastrophic wildfire destroyed much of the town. CBS13 in Sacramento reports state firefighters used their hoses last week to...

Utility Customers Sue Over California Wildfire Law

Jul 22 2019 // Two Pacific Gas & Electric customers want the federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy to strike down a new California law that Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed as a way of shoring up the state’s...

California Safety Board Oks Regulation to Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke

Jul 19 2019 // The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has adopted an emergency regulation designed to protect workers from hazards associated with wildfire smoke. The regulation is expected to go into effect in...

Report: California Wildfires Will Get Worse, Blame Climate Change

Jul 18 2019 // Hot, dry weather in California has resulted in a dramatic increase in wildfires. It will get worse – and you can blame climate change, according to a new report out. The report, Observed impacts of anthropogenic climate...

Allstate Says 60% of June Insured Cat Losses Came from Texas

Jul 18 2019 // Announcing total estimated catastrophe losses for June, Allstate Corporation attributed 60 percent of those losses to four severe wind and hail weather events that primarily impacted Texas. Allstate estimated catastrophe...

Suspected Tornado in Mississippi From Hurricane Barry Damages Homes

Jul 18 2019 // A suspected tornado struck a rural area of north Mississippi on Tuesday, damaging homes and knocking down trees and power lines as the wet remnants of Hurricane Barry rumbled through several states, officials said. A storm...

Florida Gets Ready for Peak Hurricane Season After 3 Years of Major Storms

Jul 17 2019 // Floridians are on alert as the state heads into peak hurricane season after three straight years of being impacted by major storms. Meanwhile, the Florida Panhandle continues its recovery from Hurricane Michael that...

Karen Clark & Co. Estimates $300M in Non-NFIP Insured Losses from Barry

Jul 16 2019 // Catastrophe modeling firm, Karen Clark & Company (KCC), says insured losses from Tropical Storm/Hurricane Barry and its remnants will near $300 million. That figure does not include National Flood Insurance Program...

Gulf Coast Still Faces Flood, Tornado Risks from Weakened Barry

Jul 16 2019 // Even though Tropical Depression Barry did not unleash catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, many across the Gulf Coast were urged to take heed of tornado and flash-flood warnings Monday as the storm moved north. Barry was...

4.6, 3.5 Magnitude Earthquakes Rattle Greater Seattle Area

Jul 15 2019 // Two earthquakes shook the Puget Sound region in Washington state early Friday morning, with the temblors felt into British Columbia and across the Cascade Mountains into the eastern part of the state. There were no...

Nevada Officials Expect Interest in Quake Coverage to Rise

Jul 15 2019 // Few Nevada residents and businesses have earthquake coverage, but insurance officials said they are expecting interest to increase after the two California earthquakes that rattled the region. The magnitude 6.4 and...

Barry Weakened After Landfall in Louisiana But Flooding Still Expected in Some Areas

Jul 14 2019 // Storm Barry trudged through northwestern Louisiana on Sunday, weakening to a tropical depression but dropping up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain in some places to create life-threatening flood conditions along the Mississippi...

Barry Expected to Make Landfall in Louisiana as Hurricane on Saturday

Jul 12 2019 // In an update issued at 4 p.m., CDT, on July 12, the National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Barry is expected to make landfall as a category 1 hurricane along Louisiana’s central Gulf Coast on July 13. The NHC...