Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ISO to Collect Terrorism Insurance Data for Treasury
Mar 28 2016 // The property/casualty insurance data and rating organization ISO will collect and help analyze terrorism data this year for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the federal agency charged with gauging the effectiveness of...
2015 Global Insured Losses Lowest Since 2009 Despite El Niño Effects: Carpenter
Mar 25 2016 // One of the strongest El Niño periods on record and a positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation were the climate drivers in 2015 that led to an exceptional season of Pacific tropical storms and severe windstorms and...
Re/Insurers Must Respond to Evolving Terrorist Risk with Relevant Products: JLT
Mar 25 2016 // The re/insurance industry is failing to respond to the growing global terrorist threat with products that meet the needs of their clients, according to a report published by JLT Re and JLT Specialty Ltd. Indeed, evidence...
Hailstorms Pummel North Texas, Again
Mar 24 2016 // Large hail and strong winds caused considerable damage in heavily populated areas of north Texas overnight on March 23. It was the second time just over a week that the area has been pummeled by hail. Car windows and sky...
Michigan Auto Insurance Fee for Catastrophic Injuries to Increase
Mar 24 2016 // The annual auto insurance fee that Michigan drivers pay toward caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes is rising to $160, a $10 increase. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association announced the new per-car...
Texas Regulators: Mid-March Hail Storm Was Insurance ‘Catastrophe’
Mar 24 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance has determined the weather-related event that occurred March 16, 2016, through March 17, 2016, in the counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Johnson, and Parker is a catastrophe for the purpose of...
Officials: Mississippi Flood Damage Most Widespread Since Hurricane Katrina
Mar 24 2016 // Mississippi officials say the damage from floods this month is the most widespread the state has had since Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson tells The Clarion-Ledger federal...
Farmers CEO Remembers Joplin Tornado at California Gala
Mar 21 2016 // Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers Insurance, turned what could have been a mere acceptance speech into a lesson-filled personal account of his first time seeing the devastation wreaked by the May 2011 tornado in Joplin,...
Dry, Windy Weather in North Carolina Increasing Mountain Wildfires
Mar 21 2016 // Windy and dry conditions are causing an increase in the number of wildfires in the North Carolina mountains. Media outlets report that a 60-acre fire near Bearwallow Mountain southeast of Asheville that firefighters have...
Alabama to Host Scientific Research Study of Southern Tornadoes
Mar 21 2016 // Weather researchers say they expect about 40 scientists from around the nation to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South. Like...
Meteorologists Pioneer Method of Predicting Tornadoes Weeks in Advance
Mar 21 2016 // Researchers say they’ve come up with a way to predict the likelihood of tornadoes two or three weeks in advance – a step toward better warnings of storms that kill an average of 80 Americans each year. Victor...
Midwest Pounded by Tornado-Packing Storms
Mar 18 2016 // The National Weather Service confirmed that on tornadoes touched down this week in parts of eastern Iowa that also endured heavy rain and hail as large as golf balls. Tornadoes also touched down at least five times in...
North Texas Commuters Hit with Damaging Hailstorms
Mar 17 2016 // Severe thunderstorms moved in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth area this morning producing heavy rain, strong winds and hail as large as baseballs, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported. Several businesses...
NWS Confirms F-1 Tornado Caused Damage in Southwest Ohio
Mar 17 2016 // The National Weather Service confirms a tornado caused damage in a southwest Ohio village near Dayton. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the March 14 tornado. The National Weather Service says the EF-1...
Weather Service Assessing Possible Tornado Damage in Arkansas
Mar 15 2016 // The National Weather Service is sending investigators to assess damage and determine if tornadoes touched down in Arkansas as a fast-moving storm system brought rain and hail across the state. Meteorologist Michael Brown...
Earthquakes Hit South Central Alaska, Aleutians
Mar 15 2016 // A magnitude 4.5 earthquake that hit south-central Alaskawas felt in the state’s largest city, Anchorage, and was one of several recent quakes in the area. The National Tsunami Warning Center says the quake hit at...
Texas Seeks Comments on Windstorm Inspection Rule
Mar 10 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance is seeking comments on an informal working draft of amendments that would update the rule relating to items not requiring inspection for the purposes of windstorm and hail insurance...
Ironshore Bolsters War & Terrorism Offering in Asia Pacific with Hill Appointment
Mar 9 2016 // Ironshore International announces that James W. Hill has been named underwriting manager of Terrorism, Political Violence and War for the Asia Pacific region. Hill, who joins Ironshore from Willis Ltd., will be based in...
Earthquake Response/Wastewater Reduction Plan for Central Oklahoma Unveiled
Mar 8 2016 // The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s (OCC) Oil and Gas Conservation Division (OGCD), in response to the risk of triggered earthquakes, announced actions to further reduce the amount of oil and gas wastewater...
El Niño Wreaks Havoc in February with Fiji Cyclone, Floods & Drought: Aon Report
Mar 8 2016 // The Southern Hemisphere registered its strongest tropical cyclone on record during February with Tropical Cyclone Winston, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. With...
