Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers’ Firefighting Teams Move to Limit Damage from California Wildfires
Nov 13 2018 // California’s raging wildfires are so bad that American International Group Inc. and Chubb Ltd. are deploying teams of specialists and former firefighters to spray retardants on homes. The season may soon rank among...
California Wildfire Insured Losses at Billions of Dollars and Climbing
Nov 12 2018 // An analysis by catastrophe modeler RMS shows 15 wildfires are burning more than 280,000 acres in California have collectively destroyed nearly 7,000 homes and businesses and killed 31 people. Roughly 300,000 have been...
Deaths, Damages Continue to Rise in California’s Most Destructive Wildfires
Nov 12 2018 // The most destructive wildfires in California’s history have killed at least 31 people and forced tens of thousands more to evacuate as firefighters struggle to gain control amid swirling winds. The so-called Camp...
California Wildfire Update: Thousands Flee, More Than 50K Without Power
Nov 9 2018 // Fanned by hot, dry winds, wildfires north of San Francisco and near Los Angeles have forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people in the state, including Malibu, the coastal enclave of the rich and famous. The fires...
California Wildfire Grows to More than 20K Acres, More Blazes Erupt
Nov 9 2018 // A wildfire raging in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada foothills quadrupled in size late Thursday and another day of dry winds threatens to make it spread even farther, faster. The blaze near the community of Chico...
AXIS Capital Estimates 4Q Losses from Hurricane Michael
Nov 9 2018 // AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. announced a preliminary pre-tax loss estimate for Hurricane Michael in the range of $100 million to $120 million, which will affect its fourth quarter financial results. The loss estimate figure...
Tallying Losses from October’s Global Catastrophes
Nov 8 2018 // October was a deadly and costly month due to natural catastrophes, with the the U.S. and Europe being hit particularly hard, according to Aon’s Impact Forecasting. Total U.S. economic losses from October’s...
Storm May Have Spawned Tornadoes in Deep South
Nov 8 2018 // Possible tornados touched down in Louisiana and Mississippi as a line of storms moved across the Deep South. Tree limbs and power lines were down from Louisiana to Alabama early Tuesday, prompting some schools to delay the...
New Alabama State Park Buildings Utilize IBHS Commercial Resiliency Standards
Nov 8 2018 // The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has utilized construction standards from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) FORTIFIED Commercial in the creation of new...
Casualty Losses Provide Impetus for 2019 Rate Firming: Willis Towers Watson
Nov 7 2018 // Commercial insurance buyers are facing upward pricing pressure across most lines of business in 2019, driven in part by escalating losses in the casualty insurance market, according to a report by Willis Towers Watson. The...
4 Alabama Counties Declared Federal Disaster from Hurricane Michael
Nov 7 2018 // Four south Alabama counties have been declared a disaster area because of damage from Hurricane Michael last month. The governor’s office says President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration that includes...
Earthquake Prompts Shut Down of Well Completion Site in Oklahoma
Nov 6 2018 // State oil and gas regulators in Oklahoma have ordered the indefinite shutdown hydraulic fracturing operations at a well site after an earthquake struck nearby. The 3.3 magnitude quake was reported Sunday night near Bridge...
Georgia Insured Losses from Hurricane Michael Near $700M
Nov 6 2018 // Georgia’s insured losses from Hurricane Michael have climbed to more than $696 million, with insurers reporting approximately 68,000 claims filed as of the end of October, according to a press release from Insurance...
Georgia Estimates $250M in Insured Losses from Hurricane Michael
Nov 5 2018 // The Georgia Department of Insurance has estimated insured property losses from Hurricane Michael will reach $250 million, according to a statement by Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens. In figures released Oct....
Regulators, Industry Seek to Keep Florida AOB Abuse in Check After Michael
Nov 5 2018 // In an effort to keep the Florida assignment of benefits (AOB) crisis from further worsening in the state, Florida’s insurance industry, regulators and consumer advocates are on high alert for AOB activity in the wake...
Helping Americans Bridge the Insurance Gap
Nov 5 2018 // Consumers seldom think about auto and homeowners insurance until the unthinkable happens and they need to file a claim. However, with increasing frequency, Mother Nature is bringing widespread devastation to the U.S. So...
Power Customers in California File Claims in Pre-Emptive Wildfire Outage
Nov 2 2018 // A Northern California utility received 146 demands for reimbursement from customers who say Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s controversial decision to cut power to prevent wildfires hurt them economically. The...
AIG Executives Outline Path to Underwriting Profit in 2019
Nov 2 2018 // “We do see it coming. We expect that in 2019 we’re going to be in an underwriting profit position, not a great one, but a profit. And we’ll move from there to a great one.” So said Brian...
Hurricane Florence Damage in North Carolina Reaches $17B
Nov 2 2018 // Hurricane Florence in North Carolina is now estimated to have caused $17 billion in damage, according to a statement from Governor Roy Cooper’s office. An Oct. 31 updated damage estimate from the North Carolina...
Georgia Farmers Face Long Recovery From Hurricane Michael Crop Losses
Nov 2 2018 // Hurricane Michael left a snowy landscape of ruined white cotton on Georgia’s red clay, destroying a crop and likely bringing hard times to the region’s many small communities built on agriculture. When the...
