Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Commissioner Touts Wildfire Payment Recoveries
Nov 16 2009 // On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Sayre, Tea and Freeway Fires in Southern California, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced in a press statement Friday that the California Department of Insurance...
States Back Federal Role in Insuring Natural Catastrophes
Nov 15 2009 // After Decades of Discussion, States Adopt 3-Tired Plan Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of Insurance...
Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan
Nov 15 2009 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote The private insurance industry alone ‘cannot be expected to provide comprehensive catastrophe coverage without adequate financial backstops for the most...
Best Upgrades Hannover Re (Bermuda) Credit Rating; Affirms ‘A’ Financial Rating
Nov 12 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of Hannover Re (Bermuda) Ltd. with stable...
Tropical Storm Ida Pounds Gulf States with High Winds, Heavy Rains
Nov 10 2009 // A weakening Tropical Storm Ida lashed the U.S. Gulf Coast with drenching rain and high surf Tuesday as it moved ashore after shutting down almost 30 percent of Gulf of Mexico energy production. Ida, once a Category 2...
Hurricane Ida Kills 124 in El Salvador; Heading for Gulf Oil Fields and U.S.
Nov 9 2009 // Hurricane Ida headed toward oil and gas facilities in the central Gulf of Mexico on Monday on a path to the U.S. Gulf Coast after killing 124 people in El Salvador following floods and mudslides. U.S. oil companies were...
Hurricane Ida Shuts Gulf Refineries; Downgraded to Tropical Storm
Nov 9 2009 // Energy companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico shut in oil and natural gas production and a major gas hub was closed on Monday as Hurricane Ida spun toward the region. The Independence natural gas hub — the largest...
Late Season Hurricane Hits Nicaragua
Nov 6 2009 // According to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide and the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hurricane Ida made landfall in eastern Nicaragua on Thursday morning, causing damage to homes and knocking out power to...
Allstate Reports Q3 Profit
Nov 6 2009 // Allstate Corp., the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, reported a third qarter profit Wednesday, the improvement from a year ago loss made possible by lower catastrophe and investment losses. Net income...
ABI Teams with AIR, Met Office in Study of Climate Change Flood Costs
Nov 4 2009 // The Association of British Insurers is increasingly concerned that “rising global temperatures will put the heat on insurance as flood costs rise.” This would in turn “lead to more expensive and harder to...
The Hartford Reports 3Q Loss
Nov 4 2009 // The Hartford Financial Services Group reported a third quarter net loss of $220 million, compared with a net loss of $2.6 billion in the year-ago period. Written premiums for The Hartford’s property/casualty...
At Least 14 Reported Dead as Typhoon Mirinae Lashes Philippines
Nov 2 2009 // Typhoon Mirinae has battered the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces, still reeling from recent flooding, killing at least 14 people [IJ Note — later reports have increased the death toll to 24] and...
Q3 Profit Rises at CNA; CEO Motamed Sees ‘Encouraging’ Rate Trends
Nov 2 2009 // CNA Financial Corp.’s third quarter 2009 results included net operating income of $331 million and net income of $263 million along with a combined ratio for property/ casualty operations of 101.0%. Net operating...
San Diego Power Company Pays Wildfire Restitution
Nov 2 2009 // San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications have agreed to pay $17 million to settle claims by state investigators that poor maintenance led to three huge wildfires in 2007. The settlement, announced Friday, comes...
Decades in the Making, NAIC Outlines Natural Catastrophe Plan
Nov 1 2009 // White Paper Approved at Fall Meeting with Near-Unanimous Vote Though it may seem like the debate over the creation of a national catastrophe insurance plan is a relatively recent phenomenon, the National Association of...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Proposed Rate Hike Rejected
Nov 1 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance has rejected a request from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for a 10 percent rate increase for both residential and commercial risks. But regulators left open the possibility...
California Still at Earthquake Risk
Nov 1 2009 // California is still vulnerable to devastating loss should another earthquake occur like the Loma Prieta earthquake, which occurred 20 years ago, according to ProtectingAmerican.org. “The fact is, that...
Arsonist Faces Murder Charge for Heart Attacks Linked to 2003 California Wildfire
Nov 1 2009 // Case Shows New Determination to Charge Alleged Arsonists with Murder for Firefighter and Civilian Deaths Retired accountant James McDermith’s mad dash to retrieve a camper and pack it with belongings as a wildfire...
AIR Tracking Typhoon Mirinae; Could Hit Northern Philippines Today
Oct 30 2009 // According to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, a major tropical cyclone is threatening the northern Philippines for the fourth time in the past month. AIR rported that Typhoon Mirinae is expected to make...
AIR Involved in 80% of $2.1 Billion in Catastrophe Bonds Issued in 2009
Oct 28 2009 // Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR) reported that it has provided risk modeling and analytical services for over 80 percent of the $2.1 billion of catastrophe bonds issued to date in 2009. AIR said it has been the...
