Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Governor Calls for Legislation to Rein in Hailstorm Litigation
Feb 2 2017 // In his state of the state address, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave a boost to the insurance industry’s effort to get legislation passed that would place limits on post-hailstorm litigation. Calling lawsuits against...
Strong Chubb 2016 Results Reflect Benefits of Merger: Greenberg
Feb 2 2017 // Chubb Limited CEO and Chairman Evan G Greenberg said that the company’s 2016 financial results have reflected the benefits of the nearly $30 billion ACE/Chubb merger that created today’s Chubb about one year...
Research Shows California Homeowners Lack Understanding of Retrofitting
Feb 1 2017 // A new study on California homowners shows a general awareness of earthquakes and other natural hazards, but that those owners did not necessarily take action to mitigate risks, and many didn’t know whether their home...
Earthquake Felt Widely in Anchorage Region of Alaska
Feb 1 2017 // A moderate earthquake struck Tuesday that was widely felt in the Anchorage, Alaska area, but there were no reports of damage. The Alaska Earthquake Center says the magnitude-5.2 temblor struck at 12:38 a.m. and was...
PERILS Forms Alliance with CatIQ to Provide Industry Loss Data for Canada
Feb 1 2017 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry catastrophe insurance data, has announced that it has entered a strategic alliance with Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc....
New Tsunami Warning System Could Add Vital Minutes of Warning for Indonesia
Feb 1 2017 // Indonesia’s tsunami detection system, made up of seafloor sensors that communicate with transmitting buoys on the surface, has been rendered useless by vandals and lack of funding. Now Indonesian and U.S. scientists...
North Carolina to Receive $198M in Federal Grant for Hurricane Matthew Relief
Feb 1 2017 // North Carolina has been officially awarded nearly $200 million from the federal government for Hurricane Matthew relief that Congress approved last month in a larger spending agreement. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office says...
Mississippi Estimates More Than $1M in Timber Damaged by Tornado
Jan 31 2017 // More than $1 million worth of timber was destroyed by the tornado that hit Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties. The Mississippi Forestry Commission announced the estimate Friday based on aerial damage assessments. The...
ARC, Topa Insurance Launch Coverage for Post-Hurricane Losses in Florida
Jan 31 2017 // Topa Insurance Co. has formed an exclusive partnership with Assured Risk Cover (ARC) to launch StormPeace, an insurance product in Florida designed to protect insureds from economic loss incurred by a named hurricane and...
Georgia Insurance Department to Hold Claims Village in Albany for Tornado Victims
Jan 30 2017 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens will host a Catastrophe Claims Village in Albany, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, and Wednesday, Feb. 1, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Insurance. The purpose of...
Wildfires in Central Oklahoma Destroy Homes, Damage Structures
Jan 26 2017 // Authorities say at least two homes were destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire that burned in central Oklahoma on Tuesday. Wildfires, fueled by dry vegetation and strong winds, also damaged or destroyed other structures in...
California Homeowner Registration Starts for 2017 Brace + Bolt Program
Jan 26 2017 // The 2017 Earthquake Brace + Bolt program opened registration this week for $6 million in grants for seismic retrofits. This represents a 25 percent increase in funding over last year to help California homeowners protect...
Mississippi, Georgia Commissioners Call on Industry to Assist Residents Affected by Tornadoes
Jan 26 2017 // Insurance commissioners in Mississippi and Georgia, two of several Southeast states hit over the weekend by devestating tornadoes that damaged thousands of homes and caused millions of dollars in insured losses, are...
31 Houses Damaged or Destroyed by Tornadoes in Louisiana
Jan 25 2017 // Authorities say tornadoes destroyed or damaged 31 houses and RVs in Louisiana last weekend: 29 in the northwest near Plain Dealing, and two in the Natchitoches Parish town of Natchez. Officials say nobody was seriously...
Cat Bond Issuance in 2017 Could Approach Record Levels: Aon Report
Jan 25 2017 // Total catastrophe bond issuance for calendar year 2016 reached US$5.8 billion – a decrease from US$6.9 billion in 2015 – principally due to ongoing competitive re/insurance market conditions, according to an Aon...
Mississippi Tornado Damaged At Least 1,100 Homes
Jan 25 2017 // A tornado that tore a 31-mile path across south Mississippi over the weekend killed four people and damaged or destroyed more than 1,100 homes, state officials said Monday, as the governor assured residents that federal...
39 Possible Tornadoes Devastate Southeast, Leave 19 Dead
Jan 24 2017 // Chuck Stafford was watching the Atlanta Falcons rout the Green Bay Packers for the NFC title when bad weather suddenly began to pound his mobile home in southern Georgia. Stafford, 74, had just gotten to head to the...
1/1 Renewals Saw Some Price Stabilization, Record Capital, Demand Uptick: JLT Re
Jan 24 2017 // The challenging operating environment confronting reinsurers has led to some price stabilization at the Jan. 1, 2017 renewals, as they face the reality of deteriorating results and margin compression, according to JLT Re...
Why Are Large-Scale Tornado Outbreaks Increasing in U.S.?
Jan 24 2017 // The frequency of large-scale tornado outbreaks is increasing in the United States, particularly when it comes to the most extreme events, according to research recently published in Science. The study by researchers...
Death Toll Climbs From Weekend Tornadoes Across Southeast
Jan 23 2017 // A weekend of deadly weather in the Southeast killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more, authorities said Sunday morning, while residents along the Georgia-Florida line braced for more intense, fast-moving storms...
