Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Windstorm Insurer’s Request to Hike Liability Limits Denied
Oct 18 2018 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan has declined to approve the request by the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast to increase maximum limits of liability for...
Regulators, Industry Seek to Keep Florida AOB Abuse In Check After Michael
Oct 18 2018 // Haley Nelson inspects damages to her family properties in the Panama City, Fla., spring field area after Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida’s Panhandle on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald...
A Drive Through the Panhandle After Michael
Oct 17 2018 // You know that Hurricane Michael came through the Florida panhandle as a powerful Category 4 storm. In fact, when it made landfall, it was just 2 mph from being considered a Category 5 storm. It is the most powerful...
Latest Storms May Finally Shift Focus to Disaster Mitigation by Local Communities
Oct 17 2018 // Hurricane Michael’s devastation could spur policymakers to better prepare vulnerable communities for the effects of climate change. The images of entire towns in Florida’s panhandle all but erased by storm...
Florida Red Tide Not Diminished by Hurricane Michael
Oct 17 2018 // Hurricane Michael failed to break up a patchy and toxic algae bloom that has lingered in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s shoreline for the last year, experts said Monday, meaning the red tide outbreak could continue...
Weaker Building Codes in Florida Panhandle Scrutinized After Michael
Oct 17 2018 // Unlike in South Florida, homes in the state’s Panhandle did not have tighter building codes until just 11 years ago; it was once argued that acres of forests would provide the region with a natural barrier against...
Hurricanes Behind Cuts in Earnings Estimates for AIG, Chubb, Other S&P 500
Oct 16 2018 // The S&P 500 has plummeted more than 5 percent since early October. The culprit: slowing earnings growth stemming from rising interest rates and oil prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That straightforward...
ShakeOut an Opportunity to Sell Earthquake Policies in California and Beyond
Oct 16 2018 // Millions of people are expected to drop, cover and hold on at 10:18 a.m. PST on Thursday, which should be a good opportunity for insurance agents to try and sell some policies, according to the head of the California...
Florida Orders Insurers to Halt Rate Hikes; Sets Up Hurricane Michael Claims Village
Oct 16 2018 // Florida’s insurance regulator has issued an emergency order that ensures “additional protections” to Florida policyholders – including freezing any rate hikes for 90 days – to support recovery efforts...
California Utility Cuts Power to Dampen Wildfire Threat
Oct 15 2018 // California’s largest public utility cut off electric power to about 60,000 customers in an unprecedented move to prevent wildfires such as those that erupted in the state’s wine country last fall, as high winds...
Georgia Working to Restore Power to Thousands After Hurricane Michael
Oct 15 2018 // Power outages caused by Hurricane Michael are likely to linger into early this week for some of the hardest hit communities in southwest Georgia. More than 188,000 homes and businesses still didn’t have power Friday....
Montana Homes in Fire-Prone Areas Hike Firefighting Costs, Report Shows
Oct 15 2018 // Rapid population growth and the desire to live near forests means new housing in western Montana is being built in wildfire-prone areas, increasing taxpayer-funded fire suppression liabilities and putting lives and...
California Bracing for High Winds, Increased Wildfire Danger
Oct 15 2018 // Potentially powerful winds combined with dry weather are raising the threat of wildfires in California. State firefighters say they are preparing for potential extreme fire weather early in the week. The National Weather...
Rescuers Continue to Search Florida Towns Demolished by Hurricane Michael
Oct 15 2018 // Dozens of people remained missing on Sunday in Florida Panhandle communities reduced to ruins by Hurricane Michael as rescuers said they expected the death toll to rise and survivors grappled with power outages and...
Hurricane Leslie Hits Coast of Portugal, Injuring 27
Oct 15 2018 // A weakened Hurricane Leslie slammed into the coast of Portugal, leaving 27 people injured as it uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed store windows with gusting winds and heavy rain. Over 60 people were...
Philippines Weighs Sponsorship of Catastrophe Bond Issue
Oct 15 2018 // The Philippines’ finance ministry said on Sunday it was exploring a plan to sponsor a catastrophe bond issue, similar to the one launched by the World Bank early this year covering Latin American earthquakes. The...
Karen Clark: Hurricane Michael Losses Could Reach $8B
Oct 15 2018 // Catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. (KCC) estimates insured losses from Hurricane Michael will be close to $8 billion, according to the KCC high resolution U.S. Hurricane Reference Model. This estimate includes...
Market Changes Not Expected From Hurricane Michael; Florida Insurers ‘Heavily’ Reinsured
Oct 15 2018 // Losses to the insurance industry from Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm that hit the Florida Panhandle before continuing a path of destruction through several other Southeast states, will be substantial but not enough...
Insurtech Jumpstart Rolls out Parametric Earthquake Product for Californians
Oct 15 2018 // A firm that wants to make a name for itself as the first parametric insurtech in the U.S. for earthquakes has officially launched in California, over a year after its anticipated original launch date. Jumpstart Insurance...
Texas Coastal Lawmakers Urge Denial of Windstorm Insurer’s Filed 10% Rate Hike
Oct 15 2018 // More than 20 state legislators have signed a letter addressed to Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan requesting that a 10 percent rate increase filed by the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and...
