Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Earthquake Authority Chief Talks About 1 Million Policies
Jan 18 2018 // Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, is as enthusiastic of an earthquake policy salesman as you’ll find anywhere. Pomeroy has headed the state’s privately funded, publicly managed seller...
Insurers Increasing Payments to California Wildfire Victims Sans Itemization
Jan 18 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday released the results of the formal notice he issued last month to all residential property insurers requesting they provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage...
California Commissioner and Legislators Unveil Wildfire Insurance Bills
Jan 16 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and legislators from wildfire-damaged communities across the state unveiled eight bills and two additional legislative proposals proponents say will strengthen consumer...
Philadelphia Insurance Cos. Employees Plant Trees in Wildfire-Devastated Texas Park
Jan 12 2018 // Fifty Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) employees are supporting the company’s efforts to plant 80,000 trees for the third consecutive year through a two-day project near Austin, Texas. Employees have finished...
Alternative Capital Responds to 2017 Catastrophes with ‘Show of Strength’: Aon Benfield
Jan 11 2018 // Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria represented the first real test of the staying power of the alternative capital sector, which has responded with a show of strength by continuing to fund reinsurance capacity, according to...
XL Group: Loss Estimates of $45M Related to Southern California Wildfires
Jan 11 2018 // XL Group Ltd. on Wednesday announced preliminary estimates of natural catastrophe net losses of roughly $45 million related to the recent wildfires in Southern California and $20 million related to other events. The...
Southern California Edison Blamed in Lawsuit for 3 Los Angeles-Area Wildfires
Jan 10 2018 // Edison International’s Southern California Edison was blamed in a lawsuit for three wildfires that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings and killed a firefighter last month in the Los Angeles area. While no official...
California Wildfires Top Arch Capital’s Q4 Catastrophe Losses of $60M-$75M
Jan 10 2018 // Arch Capital Group reports estimated pre-tax losses of $60 million to $75 million from fourth quarter catastrophic events, primarily the California wildfires. This estimated range of losses – net of reinsurance...
U.S. Reinsurance Outlook Remains Negative for 2018, Says A.M. Best
Jan 10 2018 // Ratings firm A.M. Best said it is maintaining its 2018 outlook for the U.S. property/casualty reinsurance sector at negative, citing the “pronounced pressure on U.S. property catastrophe rates as the alternative...
Parametric Insurance Can Help Close Global Protection Gap: Clyde & Co. Report
Jan 9 2018 // Parametric insurance can play a significant role in closing the insurance protection gap – a problem that plagues economies in both the developing and developed world, according to a report published by Clyde &...
Coastal Sea Rise Threatening Florida’s Historic Resources
Jan 9 2018 // The Castillo de San Marcos withstood two sieges in 330 years and changed hands five times, but its latest invader – the rising Atlantic Ocean – threatens to erode the historic St. Augustine fortress. The coquina shell...
Experts See Expanding Role for Parametric Insurance, Including for U.S. Disasters
Jan 8 2018 // Catastrophic losses this year due to extreme weather events have led to a growing interest in parametric insurance in the U.S., according to industry experts. Parametric coverage is also gaining traction as hazard modeling...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending
Jan 8 2018 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending. The report by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research estimates that tourists spent...
Catastrophe Bond Issuance Tops New Record of $10.5B in 2017: Verisk Report
Jan 5 2018 // Catastrophe bond issuance surpassed $10.5 billion in 2017 – a new record, according to the latest report from the Property Claims Services Unit of Verisk Insurance Solutions. Results from 2017 are significantly higher...
California Commissioner Issues Report on Fire Insurance Availability Issues
Jan 4 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today released a report on the growing problem of homeowners fire insurance availability and affordability in many areas throughout the state. The report recommends changes in...
Natural Catastrophe Claims in 2017 Reached a Record $135B: Munich Re
Jan 4 2018 // The insurance industry will pay record claims of US$135 billion from last year’s spate of natural catastrophes, according to a report published by Munich Re. Further, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM), the...
Disasters Affected 8% of U.S. Population in 2017, FEMA Notes in Review of Historic Year
Jan 3 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations in 2017, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million Americans, almost...
Top Insurance Journal South Central Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // Among the most read news stories in Insurance Journal’s South Central region during 2017 concerned Hurricane Harvey and Texas hailstorm (aka natural catastrophe insurance claims) legislation. The insurance industry...
Top Insurance Journal West Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // Trade secrets and Hippos, lawsuits and tragedies. The news for 2017 didn’t seem to be dominated by a single trend or sole event, but in an ever-fractured media world that must try and cater to short attention spans...
2017 ‘One of Worst’ for U.S. Weather with 15 Events Costing $1 Billion or More
Dec 29 2017 // In the year that President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris accord and downplayed global warming as a security threat, the U.S. received a harsh reminder of the perils of the rise in the planet’s temperature: a...
