Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge: Records of Michigan Catastrophic Claims Fund Are Public
Jan 14 2013 // An insurance fund that slaps a fee on every Michigan car to pay for catastrophic injuries suffered in accidents has been ordered to open its books and demonstrate how it sets the annual rate. The decision by an Ingham...
Governments Struggle with Financial Crisis as the Planet Warms up
Jan 11 2013 // The global economy has been through economic recessions before, and has eventually recovered from them. This time around, however, it must do so while coping with the ever increasing menace of climate change – that makes...
2011 Joplin Tornado Losses Could Reach $2B
Jan 11 2013 // State regulators say insurance claims from the May 2011 Joplin, Mo., tornado are likely to reach $2 billion. The tornado killed 161 people, injured hundreds of others and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and...
Best Affirms Amlin AG, Amlin plc, Lloyd’s Syndicate 2001 Ratings; Outlook Stable
Jan 11 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2001, which is...
N.Y. Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Cap Hurricane Deductibles at $1,500
Jan 10 2013 // New York legislators have introduced a bill this week that seeks to cap the percentage-based hurricane deductibles for homeowners’ insurance or dwelling fire personal lines policy in New York State at $1,500.The New...
Aon Benfield December Cat Report: Philippines Typhoon, Extreme Weather
Jan 9 2013 // In its latest Global Catastrophe Recap report Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, focuses on Super Typhoon Bopha, which killed 1,901 people and injured 2,666 others...
Right Street: A Plan for New York to Prepare for Catastrophes
Jan 8 2013 // New York State’s NYS 2100 Commission, created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to offer recommendations on ways to better prepare for natural disasters, is out with its initial report, including a...
After the Storm: Insurance Agents E&O Lessons Learned
Jan 8 2013 // More often than not, a second wave of claims against insurance agents by their clients follows a natural disaster. As parties find themselves without the coverage they expected after a catastrophe, it appears to be a...
Texas Weather Catastrophes Cause $2.3 Billion Losses in 2012
Jan 7 2013 // Texas recorded seven catastrophic weather events in 2012 that resulted in $2.3 billion in insured losses, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. The Dallas/Fort Worth area received the brunt of the damage from tornadoes...
NOAA: 2012’s U.S. Billion-Dollar Extreme Weather Events ‘Impressive’
Jan 4 2013 // Last year may not have measured up to 2011 in terms total damages or havoc wreaked, but the nearly dozen recorded billion-dollar weather related events still ranks as impressive. That’s according to the National...
PERILS’ Final Windstorm Andrea Loss Cost is $438 Million
Jan 4 2013 // PERILS, the Swiss-based cat modeling firm, has announced that its fourth and final loss report for windstorm Andrea, which affected the UK and Western Europe from 4 to 5 January 2012, is estimated at €336 million [$437.5...
Munich Re 2012 Cat Report Underscores Extreme Weather in U.S.; Sandy Losses
Jan 3 2013 // The figures for natural catastrophse that occurred in 2012 are “dominated by weather extremes in the USA,” according to a report from Munich Re. The reinsurers said the U.S. “accounted for a higher...
Texas Builds ‘Hurricane Domes’ For Double-Duty
Dec 31 2012 // Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games. But come hurricane season, the structure that...
P/C Industry’s 9 Month Results Show Insurers Can Handle Sandy Losses: ISO, PCI
Dec 28 2012 // Before Hurricane Sandy hit, private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes grew to $27 billion in nine-months 2012 from $8.4 billion in nine-months 2011. Insurers’ overall profitability as...
Tornadoes Strike in Texas
Dec 26 2012 // Christmas Day along the Gulf Coast was filled with severe thunderstorms that brought drenching rains, high winds and damaging tornadoes while the nation’s midsection dealt with freezing rain, sleet and snow that made...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Rates to Increase Jan. 1
Dec 26 2012 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort in coastal counties has issued a reminder to agents that while the maximum limits of liability for residential and commercial properties will remain the same in 2013 as they...
Officials Tracking Debris off Washington Coast
Dec 19 2012 // Federal, state and tribal officials are attempting to track a large dock that was reported drifting off the coast of Washington state, one of potentially hundreds of objects that could wash up along the West Coast from the...
Swiss Re Estimates 2012 Economic Losses at $140 Billion; $65 Billion Insured
Dec 19 2012 // According to Swiss Re’s sigma preliminary estimates, economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will likely reach at least $140 billion in 2012, while total insured losses from natural...
10 Families Displaced by Indiana Tornado Get New Homes
Dec 18 2012 // Saturday was an emotional, yet joyful day for Danielle Guthrie, when Habitat for Humanity handed her the keys to her new house in Henryville. “When they called to approve me, I was surprised. It was amazing,”...
Biologist: Tsunami Debris Overwhelming In Spots In Alaska
Dec 17 2012 // Debris that gathered this past summer on Alaska’s Kayak Island made walking on its beaches feel like walking through a natural disaster zone, a federal biologist said Thursday. Jacek Maselko, a biologist with the...
