Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Pennsylvania Warns About Flood-Damaged Vehicles After Hurricane Florence
Oct 15 2018 // With automotive officials estimating that as many as 40,000 vehicles were damaged by flooding from Hurricane Florence, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) are...
Hurricane Michael’s Destruction in Photos
Oct 12 2018 // Images compiled by Insurance Journal show the devastation to the Florida Panhandle caused by Hurricane Michael, which hit the region Oct. 10 as a Category 4 storm. Loss estimates range from $3 to $9 billion, according to...
Nevada Board Says $3.8M More Needed to Fight Wildfires
Oct 12 2018 // The Nevada Board of Examiners has recommended approval of an additional $3.8 million to cover the cost of fighting wildfires this past summer. The Nevada Appeal reports state forester Kacey KC told the board Tuesday more...
Texas Governor Extends Time for Ruling on Windstorm Rate Increase Filing
Oct 12 2018 // Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has effectively extended until June 16, 2019, the deadline for approval or disapproval of a recent rate increase filed by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. The governor did so by suspending...
Insurers, Reinsurers Can Handle Hurricane Michael Losses: Fitch
Oct 12 2018 // The property/casualty re/insurance industry should be able to absorb the losses from Hurricane Michael, on top of losses from Hurricane Florence, as capital remains very strong, according to Fitch Ratings. Hurricane...
Oregon Wildfire Costs This Year Hit Record of $514M
Oct 12 2018 // New data shows the cost of fighting wildfires in Oregon reached an all-time high $514.6 million in 2018. According to data from Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, Oregon’s costs skyrocketed past last...
Washington Lands Commissioner Wants $55M for Wildfires
Oct 12 2018 // Washington’s Public Lands Commissioner wants lawmakers to increase the amount of money that the state spends to fight wildfires and prevent future blazes. Hilary Franz, who oversees the Department of Natural...
Rescuers Search for Survivors as Death Toll from Hurricane Michael Rises
Oct 12 2018 // Using heavy equipment to push aside debris and with helicopters circling overhead, rescuers in the Florida Panhandle searched for trapped residents as officials warned on Friday the death toll from HurricaneMichael was...
FEMA Hurricane Maria Relief Contracts to Face Audits
Oct 12 2018 // A new law requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to investigate how it came to award Hurricane Maria relief contracts to a company with an unproven record. The Associated Press reported last year that the...
A.M. Best: Insurer Losses from Hurricane Michael Will Be ‘Significant’
Oct 12 2018 // Insurers, reinsurers and ILS investors could face significant losses from Hurricane Michael, a major Category 4 storm that began its assault on the Florida Panhandle Wednesday, according to a briefing from A.M. Best. Best...
Fast, Furious: How Michael Became a 155mph Monster Hurricane
Oct 11 2018 // Moist air, warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, and ideal wind patterns supercharged Hurricane Michael in the hours before it smacked Florida’s Panhandle. Hurricane Michael was barely a hurricane Tuesday morning, with...
Michael Leaves Path Of Destruction Through Florida Panhandle
Oct 11 2018 // Hurricane Michael’s assault on the Florida Panhandle left nothing more than empty foundations and heaps of rubble in some parts of the small towns it crashed into with near-record force. Communications outages and...
Oklahoma Price Gouging Law in Effect After Violent Weather
Oct 11 2018 // More tornadoes were reported in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas on Tuesday, following several days of violent weather in the region. As a result of the recent heavy rain and storms, causing flooding,...
Woes of California Wildfire Victims Include Cleanup Crews, Fraud
Oct 11 2018 // One year after a devastating series of wildfires ripped through Northern California wine country, destroying thousands of homes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ first experience cleaning up after a wildfire has...
Natural Disasters in September Bring Costliest Damages to Date for 2018: Aon Report
Oct 11 2018 // Hurricane, flood, and earthquake damages made September the costliest month for natural catastrophes in 2018, according to a report from Aon’s Impact Forecasting team. September is typically the busiest month for...
