Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Joplin School District Still Haggling with FEMA over Cost of Tornado Repairs
Oct 17 2017 // More than six years after a deadly tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, the heavily damaged local school district has rebuilt. Exactly how much of those costs the district will have to shoulder remains up in the air. The...
Tornado in Oregon Damages Small Planes
Oct 17 2017 // Authorities say that it was a tornado that touched down south of Portland, Ore. last week overturning small airplanes, downing power lines and damaging several glass greenhouses. National Weather Service meteorologists say...
All Wildfire Damage to California Wineries May Not be Covered by Insurance
Oct 17 2017 // Wineries damaged by wildfires tearing through Northern California are starting insurance claims, and at least some of the smaller vintners are likely to find limits in their policies mean payouts fall short of rebuilding...
When Hurricanes Wreak Havoc: An Insurance Agency’s Perspective
Oct 16 2017 // Weathering a storm like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma or Maria requires planning, insurance and grit. In a span of 30 days the devastation from multiple hurricanes impacted millions of American families and businesses. When...
California Wildfires Threaten Significant Losses for P/C Insurers, Moody’s Says
Oct 16 2017 // Moody’s released a report on Monday assessing the impact of the wildfires in California on property/casualty insurers. “Based on history and the number of structures damaged, insured losses will run into the...
PG&E’s Possible Liability in California Wildfires Targeted by Investigators
Oct 16 2017 // PG&E Corp. at the end of last week capped its worst week in nine years on speculation that downed power lines may have played a role in deadly wildfires raging across California. And the rout is far from over. After...
S&P No Longer Expects Global Re Rate Drops at Jan. 1
Oct 16 2017 // A trio of third-quarter hurricanes and continued catastrophe losses impacting insurers and reinsurers will have a greater impact on reinsurers—and may potentially fuel reinsurance rate hikes at the Jan. 1, 2018 renewal...
Q3 Catastrophe Losses Will Bring Rate Hikes by London Market Insurers: Fitch
Oct 16 2017 // Catastrophe losses from the recent U.S. hurricanes and Mexican earthquakes will lead to price rises on London market insurers’ loss-affected lines and could also affect wider market pricing trends, according to Fitch...
How Warming Seas Could Cost South Carolina $12 Billion
Oct 16 2017 // If oceans warm at a rate predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nation-sponsored group that assesses climate change research and issues periodic reports, expected financial losses caused by...
Texas Windstorm Association Extends Deadline for Post-Harvey Appraisal Requests
Oct 16 2017 // As of Oct. 4, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast, had received 68,861 claims related to Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall near Rockport,...
Catastrophes and the Property Market
Oct 16 2017 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv The catastrophe exposed property and habitational markets could be in for some changes following this year’s active hurricane season. Joe Morrello, head of excess and surplus (E&S)...
California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Expedite Claims to Aid Wildfire Victims
Oct 15 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones over the weekend issued a notice to insurers asking them to agree to expedited claims handling procedures for wildfire damage claims to help fire victims more quickly. Several...
No, It’s Still Not ‘Time’ for a National Cat Fund. It Never Will Be.
Oct 14 2017 // Every few years, after a major hurricane strike or other disaster, there are renewed calls for Congress to establish a national catastrophe fund to provide a safety net for property insurers and cheaper coverage for...
Cincinnati Financial Corp. Says Q3 Cat Losses Could Rise to $114M
Oct 13 2017 // Cincinnati Financial Corp. has announced that the Cincinnati Insurance Companies’ property/casualty group expects its third-quarter results to include pretax catastrophe losses of approximately $102 million to $114...
More Re/Insurers Issue Their Q3 Natural Catastrophe Loss Estimates
Oct 13 2017 // The third quarter natural catastrophe loss estimates continue to rise, as more insurers and reinsurers weigh in with their loss totals from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the Mexico earthquakes. The latest...
Ireland Readies for Hurricane Ophelia, One of Its Strongest Storms in 50-Plus Years
Oct 13 2017 // Ophelia strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane forecast to strike Ireland, where one of the nation’s strongest storms in half a century threatens everything from farms to a golf course owned by the family of U.S....
Lloyd’s Outlook Is Negative on Hurricane Losses; Ratings Affirmed: S&P
Oct 13 2017 // S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on the Society of Lloyd’s to negative from stable, while reaffirming the market’s ‘A+’ insurer financial strength and long-term counterparty credit...
Hurricane-Battered Flood Insurance Program In Need of Funding
Oct 13 2017 // The U.S. National Flood Insurance Program, struggling with the costs of this year’s record hurricane season, will run out of money as early as Oct. 23 unless Congress takes action. The Federal Emergency Management...
House Approves $36.5B Disaster Aid with Puerto Rico, Wildfires, Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 12 2017 // The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved $36.5 billion in emergency relief for hurricane-hit Puerto Rico and other areas that have suffered recent disasters. In addition to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico,...
Losses from California Wildfires Could Reach up to $6 Billion, Experts Say
Oct 12 2017 // This story has been updated with the latest estimates on fire losses. The wildfires raging in California are shaping up to become an infamous if not historic event. The fires have destroyed 3,500 structures and counting,...
