Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
More Families Building Their Own Tornado Shelters
May 2 2012 // When deadly twisters chewed through the South and Midwest in 2011, thousands of people in the killers’ paths had nowhere to hide. Now many of those families are taking an unusual extra step to be ready next time:...
Southern Arizona Science Project Sparks Wildfire
Apr 30 2012 // A science project at a southern Arizona school sparked a 15-acre wildfire and led to the school’s evacuation. The project involved model rockets being launched behind Elgin School. One of the rockets landed in the...
Colorado Wildfire Ambushed Crews, Surprised Residents
Apr 30 2012 // Outside the windows of Steve Foster’s pickup, Armageddon was coming. A rampage of smoke – white and streaked with black – crested the ridge to his left and bore down. It began blocking the sun, turning daylight...
Regulation, Reputational Risk Top Concerns of Risk Managers: Lloyd’s
Apr 30 2012 // A heightened focus on insurance regulation as well as exposures related to reputational risk are top concerns for insurance executives today, reports a new survey. Nearly a third of executives responding to a survey...
UK Terrorism Reinsurer Pool Re Has over $7 Billion for Olympic Games Coverage
Apr 30 2012 // Pool Re, the state-backed British reinsurer that covers terror attack-related commercial property losses, has £4.5 billion ($7.327 billion) of assets to cover the Olympic Games and is not jacking up premiums for the...
Rate Hike Proposal Sent to Board of Texas Windstorm Insurer
Apr 27 2012 // In advance of the start of hurricane season, the actuarial underwriting committee of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for coastal counties is recommending a rate increase. The committee on April 20 voted for a...
Liberty Mutual Profit Soars 26% in Q1
Apr 27 2012 // Global insurer Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. and its subsidiaries reported a 26 percent jump in net income for the three months ended March 31 due to higher premiums and lower catastrophe losses. The company reported a...
GOP: Set Up Panel To Pay Colo. Wildfire Victims
Apr 26 2012 // Republicans want to create a commission to pay victims of a wildfire southwest of Denver, Colo. that killed three people and damaged two dozen homes, lawmakers said. A bill expected to be introduced this week would...
Kansas Tornado Relief Efforts Turn Toward Housing
Apr 26 2012 // With debris cleanup now in its second week, immediate relief efforts for Kansas tornado victims have been scaled back as disaster help moves into the next stage. The Small Business Administration is taking applications for...
Alabama Governor Tours Towns Still Recovering from Last April’s Tornadoes
Apr 26 2012 // Gov. Robert Bentley returned to the central Alabama town of Eclectic a year after a deadly tornado hit it and found people relying on themselves and the generosity of others to rebuild. The Eclectic visit came on the...
Fewer Storms Forecast for 2012 Hurricane Season
Apr 26 2012 // The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is projected to be less active than in recent years with 11 tropical storms, six of which will intensify into hurricanes, U.S. private forecaster Weather Services International said on...
Fewer Storms Forecast for 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Apr 25 2012 // Fewer Storms Forecast for 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is projected to be less active than in recent years with 11 tropical storms, six of which will intensify into hurricanes, U.S....
Apache Corp. Donates $350K for New Woodward, Oklahoma Sirens
Apr 25 2012 // Woodward, Okla., will soon have a new tornado warning system. Apache Corp, an oil and gas exploration and production company, and the City of Woodward announced a $350,000 donation from the company to replace the...
Civil Unrest Leads Aon to Downgrade 37 Countries on Political Risk Map
Apr 25 2012 // Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, has just issued its latest political risk map, which gauges the level of risk for international business in more than 200 countries. Aon said “37...
Reinsurers Resilient Despite Catastrophes, Economic Uncertainty, Says A.M. Best
Apr 24 2012 // In a special report A.M. Best summed up the financial position of the global reinsurance industry as “resilient” in light of “the volatile economic conditions and the frequent and severe loss events of...
Tornado Cost Wichita, Kansas Area $146.3M
Apr 23 2012 // Sedgwick County, Kansas, officials say the tornado that hit Oaklawn and southeast Wichita on April 14 caused an estimated $146.3 million in damage. County officials say the tornado damaged or destroyed 776 homes and 86...
Hurricane Recovery Money Redirected to Superdome Upgrades
Apr 23 2012 // The Jindal administration has gotten permission to redirect federal hurricane recovery money from housing aid programs to Superdome upgrades. Federal approval was discussed on April 19 in the Senate Finance Committee and...
Willis Global Energy Market Review Highlights 2011 Losses, Fracking Concerns
Apr 20 2012 // Willis Energy, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, released its “Energy Market Review” at conference held at its London headquarters last Tuesday. The review focused on industry losses, current capacity and the...
One Week Brought Most of Alabama’s $3.2 Billion Insured Losses in 2011
Apr 20 2012 // Almost $3 billion of the $3.2 billion Alabama insurers paid out to their auto, home and business policyholders in 2011 for catastrophe losses can be traced directly to the tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms that swept...
Travelers Has $806M Q1 Income; Business Insurance Renewal Price Up 8%
Apr 19 2012 // The Travelers Companies Inc. reported $806 million in net profit for the 2012 first quarter. The first-quarter profit was down 4 percent when compared to one year ago, but the result during the year-ago period was boosted...
