Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UPDATE: TS Ernesto Crossing Caribbean; AIR Analysis
Aug 6 2012 // Tropical Storm Ernesto is continuing along the track forecast by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, as it crosses the southern Caribbean, heading towards Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The most recent NHC bulletin...
Up Next: California’s Wildfire Season
Aug 6 2012 // With Colorado’s and New Mexico’s record wildfire seasons freshly in mind, some experts are starting to take note that California’s wildfire season is nearing, and with that there are two main points to be...
Report: Insured Losses in Colorado Wildfires Nearly $450 Million
Aug 6 2012 // The two most destructive wildfires in Colorado’s history will cost insurers roughly $450 million, according to a regional insurance association. The massive figure for insured losses comes from the total 600 homes...
Experts Predict High Wildfire Risk In August
Aug 3 2012 // Wildfire experts say states across the West are now at the highest risk of the season for wildfires as hot weather patterns continue to dry out fuels and forests across the region. Ed Delgado at the National Interagency...
Colo. Gov. Hickenlooper Seeks More Federal Wildfire Aid
Aug 3 2012 // Gov. John Hickenlooper is seeking more federal disaster aid for Colorado communities hurt by wildfires, saying they won’t be able to fully recover without it. In late June, President Barack Obama declared a disaster...
CEA Offering Shows Enormous Private Sector Interest in Earthquake Insurance
Aug 3 2012 // The California Earthquake Authority, which has been lobbying Congress to establish a federal backstop to its debt financing, is proving once again that it can do plenty fine on its own. The quasi-public agency just...
Typhoons Saola, Damrey Strike, Philippines, Taiwan, China: AIR Analysis
Aug 3 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Saola, the ninth typhoon of the Northwest Pacific storm season, made its first landfall early Thursday morning local time in Hualien, Taiwan. AIR noted that the...
Oklahoma Forester: Wildfire Danger Increases as Drought Persists
Aug 2 2012 // A deepening drought and persistent 100-degree temperatures are turning forests and crops into tinder boxes and increasing the danger of wildfires across the state, Oklahoma’s top forester said. Oklahoma State...
North-Central Nebraska Wildfires 100 Percent Contained
Aug 1 2012 // Authorities kept watch over parched grass and vegetation near the site of three contained wildfires in north-central Nebraska as the fire danger remained high. Firefighter spokeswoman Susan Ford said 100 percent...
Rhode Island Hosting Statewide Hurricane Response Training This Week
Aug 1 2012 // Rhode Island emergency management officials are testing the state’s response to a major hurricane. The state’s National Guard and Emergency Management Agency are holding a hurricane simulation. It runs from...
The Libor Scandal – an Ongoing Major Catastrophe
Aug 1 2012 // The scope of the investigations that are unfolding in the wake of the charges against Barclay’s Bank that it rigged the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) have taken on the proportions of a major...
Of Hurricanes, Insurance, Mitigation and Carbon Taxes
Jul 25 2012 // I’m in New Orleans at a conference on Preparing the Gulf Coast for Extreme Weather. Its lead sponsor is a reinsurer, the Institute for Building and Home Safety is here, and there are lots of insurance people around....
Typhoon Vicente Hits Hong Kong, but Only Minor Damage Reported: AIR
Jul 25 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Vicente, the 8th named storm to form in the Northwest Pacific this year, struck Hong Kong at 4 a.m. Tuesday (July 24, 2012). Accompanied by heavy rains, a...
AIR Expands Suite of Catastrophe Models for Australia
Jul 24 2012 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide announced the expansion of its suite of catastrophe models for Australia “with the release of the industry’s first probabilistic bushfire model and updated tropical...
Willis ILS Report: Catastrophe Reinsurance Market Nearing Strategic Shift
Jul 23 2012 // A report from Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), a unit of Willis Group Holdings, concludes that the “catastrophe reinsurance market may be on the cusp of a strategic shift, with third party capital...
Insurers Warn Restaurants on Exposures that Could Interrupt Recovery
Jul 23 2012 // The restaurant industry has endured a difficult few years and while some establishments didn’t survive the economic storm, those that did are anxious to see their business grow again. They may not have to wait too...
April Tornadoes Set Record in Oklahoma
Jul 23 2012 // Timing rather than a trend seems to be the key as to why Oklahoma has broken the state record for tornadoes in the month of April the past two years, according to weather officials. In April 2011, there were 50 confirmed...
Landers Quake Still Teaching Seismic Lessons
Jul 23 2012 // If you’ve never heard of the Landers earthquake that struck Southern California 20 years ago last month, you’re in good company. But, for an earthquake almost no one remembers, it has had a lasting impact on...
Spirit AeroSystems’s Insurance Claim From Tornado Is Around $400M
Jul 22 2012 // Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., estimates its insurance claim from an April tornado will be about $400 million. The company said that it took a $55 million charge, or 26 cents per share, in the second quarter for...
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Urges Homeowners to Protect Against Storm Losses
Jul 20 2012 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is urging to take steps now to protect their homes in the event New York is hit by any of the nine to 15 storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts for the 2012...
