Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Northern California Wildfires Burn Wine Country Homes, Force Evacuations
Oct 9 2017 // Firefighters battled roughly 10 wind-whipped fires across Northern California’s wine country early Monday, triggering a rush by residents to flee the area. Mandatory evacuations were ordered after blazes broke out...
White House $29B Disaster Aid Includes Flood Insurance Changes
Oct 9 2017 // The Trump administration last week asked Congress for $29 billion in disaster aid to cover ongoing hurricane relief and recovery efforts and to pay federal flood insurance claims. The request comes as the government is...
After Hurricane, Bond Insurer Drops Lawsuit Against Puerto Rico
Oct 8 2017 // Puerto Rico bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd. said late on Friday it voluntarily withdrew a complaint that challenged the legality of the island’s fiscal turnaround plan, citing the devastating impact of Hurricane...
Estimated $2.5 Billion Gulf Coast Damage from Nate Less Than First Feared
Oct 7 2017 // Oil companies were heading back into the Gulf of Mexico and working to restore operations after Hurricane Nate fizzled out over the U.S. South on Sunday. While an estimated 93 percent of U.S. oil production in the Gulf was...
Sunday Update: Weakened Tropical Storm Nate Brings Rain, Tornado Warnings to South
Oct 7 2017 // Hurricane Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday after coming ashore in Mississippi, flooding roads and buildings but sparing the state from catastrophic damages. Maximum sustained winds from Nate, the fourth...
Q3 2017 Likely to Be One of Costliest for Natural Disasters: Aon Report
Oct 6 2017 // The third quarter of 2017 is likely to break a new record as one of the costliest quarters for natural catastrophes, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. “The...
Gulf Coast on Hurricane Watch As Tropical Storm Nate Strengthens
Oct 6 2017 // Tropical Storm Nate, which has already shut oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, strengthened as it continued north on a path that’ll bring it ashore in the U.S. by week’s end. Nate was about 115 miles...
Partner Re, RenRe & Third Point Re Estimate Q3 Natural Catastrophe Losses
Oct 6 2017 // Three more reinsurers released their initial loss estimates from third quarter natural catastrophes, which include Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the Mexico City earthquake. PartnerRe Ltd. estimates combined...
Hurricane Irma Caused $2.5B in Damage to Florida Crops
Oct 6 2017 // State officials say Hurricane Irma caused more than $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s agricultural community. Irma dealt Florida’s iconic orange crop the most devastating blow causing more than $760 million...
Hurricane Cars Declared ‘Total Losses’ by Adjusters Are Now Back on Roads
Oct 5 2017 // The ink on the “total loss” insurance paperwork, like the 2007 Range Rover itself, was still wet when Morgan Moran began trying to buy his vehicle back after Hurricane Matthew last year. The insurance adjuster...
Trump Administration Seeks $29B in Hurricane Disaster Relief Funds
Oct 5 2017 // The Trump administration on Wednesday asked U.S. lawmakers to approve $29 billion in disaster relief funds to assist victims of recent hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. The aid request includes $12.8...
Terrorism Risks Have Made Tight Security Routine at Many Global Hotels, Resorts
Oct 4 2017 // Across the globe, risks of terrorism and other violence have made tight security at hotels and resorts routine, even in countries where strict gun control laws may help prevent the kind of shooting attack that occurred...
UPDATE 2: Global Re/Insurers Estimate Price Tag of Q3 Hurricanes & Quakes
Oct 3 2017 // Losses from Hurricane Maria and other recent 2017 natural catastrophes, including Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, the Mexico City earthquakes and other events, have led global insurers and reinsurers to issue profit...
Eyewitness to Destruction, Hope: TOPA Insurance CEO Shares Caribbean Hurricane Experiences
Oct 3 2017 // When Topa Insurance Group President and CEO John Donahue arrived in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) just a few days after Hurricane Irma hit, one of the first things he noticed aside from the utter devastation was the look...
Progress Made on California Central Coast Wildfires
Oct 2 2017 // Firefighters made progress on trio of wildfires on California’s Central Coast. Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason said that a marine layer of cooler, wetter air helped fire crews contain 60 percent of...
Cost of Fighting Montana Wildfires Approach $400M
Oct 2 2017 // The cost of fighting wildfires in Montana is approaching $400 million at the tail end of the state’s worst wildfire season in two decades. To date, wildfires have burned almost 1,900 square miles, slightly more than...
Hurricane Claim Insurance Checks Drive New Car Sales
Oct 2 2017 // As Hurricane Harvey poured on Houston, Frank Rodriguez feared for his 2014 GMC Sierra. Once he saw the pickup’s soaking-wet interior and center console full of water, he knew it was a lost cause. He just hoped his...
12th Nursing Home Resident Dies After Hurricane Irma-Related AC Outage
Oct 2 2017 // A 12th patient has died after being taken from an overheated Florida nursing home that lost its air conditioning during Hurricane Irma, officials confirmed on Friday. Dolores Biamonte, 57, died Thursday night, according to...
Florida Hurricane Irma Losses Keep Rising
Oct 2 2017 // With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma’s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by...
A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies
Oct 2 2017 // Hurricane Irma represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are...
