Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Billing, Commission System at Texas Windstorm Pool Starts Jan. 1
Oct 13 2011 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) will be implementing a new billing and commission system beginning Jan. 1, 2012. In a bulletin to insurance agents, TWIA said under the new system it will assume the...
Sen. Blumenthal Asks State Farm to Drop Hurricane Deductible for Irene
Oct 13 2011 // U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called on State Farm Insurance to drop its hurricane deductible for Connecticut residences whose homes were damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. Blumenthal was joined at his Hartford...
Endurance Appoints Lamer to Head U.S. Property Cat Treaty Reinsurance
Oct 13 2011 // Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd announced that Rene Lamer will assume the role of Senior Vice President and Head of U.S. Property Catastrophe Treaty Reinsurance. He is a Bermuda citizen, and will continue to...
AIR Analyzes Jova Damages
Oct 13 2011 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s Dr. Tim Doggett, even though hurricane Jova has weakened to a tropical depression, it’s still capable of causing further damage. “Jova’s slow...
UPDATE: Hurricane Jova Hits Mexican Port; Kills Four; Mudslides in Central America
Oct 13 2011 // Hurricane Jova flooded the streets of Mexico’s main Pacific port with torrential rain Wednesday, inundating popular beach resorts and killing at least four people in mudslides. While Jova ravaged the coast, a...
Mississippi High Court Due to Rule in Wind-Water Insurance Case
Oct 12 2011 // A decision is pending from the Mississippi Supreme Court in another wind vs. water case, this one involving a Pascagoula home subjected to 6.3 feet of storm surge. The National Flood Insurance Program paid Jackson County...
UPDATE: Hurricane Jova Crosses Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Oct 12 2011 // Hurricane Jova made landfall as a Category Two storm on Mexico’s Pacific coast late Tuesday, threatening one of the country’s busiest cargo ports and tourist resorts with high waves, heavy rain and...
FEMA Denies Virginia Earthquake Disaster Aid
Oct 11 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Virginia’s request for aid for individuals whose property was damaged by the Aug. 23 earthquake. Gov. Bob McDonnell announced the agency’s decision last...
Tornado Damages Homes, Post Office in San Antonio
Oct 11 2011 // A small tornado touched down in San Antonio early on Oct. 9, damaging several homes and a post office. The overnight storm dumped more than 3 inches of rain on the city and left thousands without power, the San Antonio...
Category 3 Hurricane Jova Targets Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Oct 11 2011 // Hurricane Jova bore down on the Pacific coast of Mexico Tuesday threatening to pound one of the country’s busiest cargo ports and tourist resorts with destructive waves, heavy rainfall and flooding. The Category 3...
California ShakeOut Registers 8 Million-plus
Oct 7 2011 // The Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill has amassed over over 8 million participants, according to its organizers. The event, set for Oct. 20 at 10:20 a.m., has surpassed the 2010 record of 7.9 million registrants,...
California Rep Introduces Earthquake Insurance Affordability Act in House
Oct 7 2011 // California’s U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-48), who today introduced H.R.3125 – companion legislation to S.637 introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein earlier this year. Both bills would strengthen the...
Aon Benfield Reports Asia Monsoon Economic Losses near $7 Billion
Oct 7 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during...
MetLife to Take $275M in Charges Related to Life Benefits, Catastrophes
Oct 7 2011 // MetLife Inc., the largest life insurer in the United States, said Thursday it would take up to $275 million in third-quarter charges, in part to increase reserves for policies where it may know the holder is dead but no...
Auto Insurers’ Loss Ratios Rise in Q2: SNL Insurance
Oct 6 2011 // Tornadoes and thunderstorms in the South and Midwest made the 2011 second quarter tumultuous for U.S. property writers. The industry loss ratio, before consideration of reinsurance, climbed to 70.6 percent, marking the...
Federal Assistance for Hurricane Irene Tops $5M for Conn. Residents
Oct 6 2011 // More than $5,089,356.61 in federal assistance to date has been approved to help Connecticut residents cope with their Tropical Storm Irene-related disaster expenses that are not covered by insurance. The federal assistance...
Tornadoes Offer Lessons in Disaster Response and Planning
Oct 5 2011 // In a year marked by a high number of severe and devastating natural catastrophes, one thing is evident — while rare, some situations are not survivable. For instance, if people or structures happen to be located directly...
2011 Sets New Record for Federal Disaster Declarations
Oct 3 2011 // The year 2011 will go down as a record-setting year when it comes to federal disaster declarations, industry analysts say. With another three months left in 2011, and hurricane season continues until November 30, the...
Hurricane Ophelia Sweeps Past Bermuda, Heads North
Oct 3 2011 // Hurricane Ophelia swirled to the east of Bermuda Saturday, whipping up showers, thunderstorms and surf on the British overseas territory as it raced northwards over the Atlantic, forecasters said. Ophelia, the third major...
Reflections on Recent Events and Implications for Catastrophe Risk Modeling
Oct 3 2011 // At the recent Rendez Vous de Monte Carlo there was a lot of discussion about catastrophe risk models. How will the recent events in Japan and New Zealand impact risk models in the future? How will these events impact the...
