Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricane Maria Likely Killed 1,139, Far More Than Government Tally: Penn State Study
Aug 6 2018 // Some 1,139 people are likely to have perished after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September, far more than the official death count of 64, according to a Pennsylvania State University study published Thursday in the...
Casualty: The Next ILS Frontier?
Aug 6 2018 // Executive Summary: While progress has been made in the development of casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS), there still is significant work to do, says Aaron C. Koch of Milliman, who discusses some of the key...
Dust from Sahara Desert Moves West, Puts Brakes on Atlantic Hurricanes
Aug 6 2018 // Atlantic storm watchers are going to have a hard time seeing the ocean, never mind any tropical systems, as another Saharan swirl of dust from Africa is moving west. The dust, a marker for dry air, has spread out across...
Typhoon Shanshan Heads Toward Tokyo, as 13th Tropical Storm of Season
Aug 6 2018 // Typhoon Shanshan is set to approach the Tokyo area later this week, bringing heavy winds and strong rains to a region suffering from a sweltering heatwave. Shanshan, the 13th tropical storm of the season, is projected to...
Class-Action Status OK’d in Oklahoma Suit Over Earthquakes
Aug 6 2018 // Central Oklahoma residents won’t get a trial this fall for a case against an oil company accused of triggering earthquakes that damaged homes and buildings. A Cleveland County judge has outlined rules for the...
Texas Seeks Input on Changes to Catastrophe Data Call Standards
Aug 6 2018 // Texas insurance regulators have responded to insurer requests for revisions to its standards for catastrophe data calls and is seeking input on the proposed changes. The Texas Department of Insurance said following...
Frontline Insurance Secures First Cat Bond of $350M for Southeast Storms
Aug 6 2018 // Swiss Re Capital Markets has structured and placed the issuance of $350 million of insurance-linked securities by Frontline Re Ltd. on behalf of Frontline Insurance. The transaction is Frontline’s debut catastrophe...
One Year Ago: Reflections on the 2017 Hurricane Season
Aug 6 2018 // It’s hard to believe but August brings us to the one-year anniversary of the watery nightmare that was Hurricane Harvey and the beginning of the remarkable 2017 hurricane season that also featured Hurricane Irma...
Flood Model Changes Help Hiscox Re & ILS Enter U.S. Flood Market
Aug 6 2018 // Less than 12 percent of U.S. homeowners have a flood insurance policy, despite the fact that flooding is the country’s most common natural disaster, said Katy Sivyer, underwriter for North America and the Caribbean...
AIR Releases New Reinsurance Catastrophe Modeling Software, Touchstone Re
Aug 3 2018 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced that it has released Touchstone Re™, a new catastrophe modeling software application designed for estimating the loss potential of reinsurance contracts and...
At Least 3 Tornadoes Confirmed in Colorado
Aug 3 2018 // People on the plains of northeastern Colorado were cleaning up this week from a powerful storm that spawned at least three tornadoes, ripped off roofs and flipped trucks and small airplanes. No serious injuries were...
Atlantic Hurricane Season Had Early Start, but Fewer Storms Are Expected
Aug 3 2018 // The Atlantic hurricane season may have gotten off to an early start this year, but it’ll probably end with a whimper — at least when it comes to the total number of storms. Twelve named storms are likely to...
Carr Fire Losses May Reach $1.5B in Likely Another Destructive Season for California
Aug 2 2018 // California’s Carr wildfire has the potential to yield losses of up to $1.5 billion, according to a Moody’s report issued on Thursday. The fire has ravaged parts of Shasta County in or near Redding in the...
California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Help Speed Wildfire Recovery Efforts
Aug 1 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced on Wednesday he is taking actions he says will help protect thousands of wildfire survivors. His first action is a notice requesting insurers to expedite claims...
S&P Probes If Reinsurers Are Ready for Another Year of Active Natural Disasters
Aug 1 2018 // After global insured natural catastrophe losses hit record highs in 2017, will reinsurers be able to withstand another year of active natural catastrophes? S&P Global Ratings indicates that while reinsurers are...
FEMA Grows Its Flood Reinsurance Plan with $500 Million Cat Bond
Aug 1 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has secured a reinsurance placement for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that for the first time is directly backed by capital markets investors. FEMA has entered...
Another 2K California Homeowners Eligible for Retrofit Grants
Jul 31 2018 // More than 2,000 homeowners will get free money to retrofit their homes to help them better withstand earthquakes, according to the top official at the California Earthquake Authority. The homeowners were on a waiting list...
Possible Tornado Damages Homes Along Georgia Coast
Jul 31 2018 // Emergency officials say a possible tornado has left a trail of damage on the Georgia coast. No injuries were reported after a funnel cloud was spotted Friday afternoon on Whitemarsh Island, east of Savannah. The Chatham...
Damage in Colorado from Severe Storm Could Include Possible Tornadoes
Jul 31 2018 // Trees and power lines are knocked over and small planes are flipped upside down after a severe storm, which including tornado sightings and hail, moved across the plains of northeastern Colorado. A team from the National...
Northern California Wildfires Threaten 10,000 Homes
Jul 31 2018 // A pair of wildfires tearing through vineyards and brushy hills threatened some 10,000 homes in Northern California on Tuesday. The two fires straddling Mendocino and Lake counties had burned seven homes by Monday night...
