Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Shrinking Citizens Signals Progress in Florida Property Market
Oct 20 2008 // Florida remains focused on recovery of its property insurance market. But new rules for reinsurers, a national catastrophe plan and the use of occupational rating in insurance are also on the radar of Florida Insurance...
Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture
Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...
Carvill Offers Options on Individual Named Storms
Oct 20 2008 // Carvill Capital Markets recently listed named storm contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, providing coverage for live hurricanes and for an entire hurricane season. Patrick Gonnelli, president of Carvill Capital...
Cross-Border Trucking, Competitiveness Concerns in Arizona
Oct 20 2008 // Being the sixth-largest state in the nation, and one of the fastest-growing, makes Arizona an attractive place to live and do business. And that means the state is desirable from an insurance perspective, too, according to...
A.M. Best, Insurers Concerned over Florida’s Catastrophe Fund Capabilities
Oct 16 2008 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Advisory Council recently presented its 2008 October bonding estimates, rattling the nerves of insurers in the process. While David Sampson, president and chief executive officer of...
Texas Regulators: Ike Repairs on Coast Must Follow Building Code Rules
Oct 16 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) issued a reminder that homes along the Gulf Coast damaged by Hurricane Ike must be repaired in accordance with the Texas Windstorm Building Code (TWBC) if the homeowner plans to...
Hurricane Omar Heads for Leeward Islands
Oct 15 2008 // Omar has intensified to hurricane strength in the last 24 hours and continues to move gradually towards the northern Leeward Islands. It is a relatively small storm with hurricane force winds extending up to just 15 miles...
Wildfires Rage North of Los Angeles
Oct 15 2008 // With savage winds subsiding overnight, firefighters on Tuesday contained 70 percent of one of the three major wildfires that have charred more than 25 square miles, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people...
Georgia Drought Persists Despite Rains from Hurricanes
Oct 14 2008 // The banks of Georgia’s Lake Lanier look about the same as last year: Closed boat ramps, parched soil and lonely islands peeking above the surface that should be covered by a dozen feet of water. Epic drought forced...
FEMA Extends Hurricane Ike Housing Deadline in Louisiana
Oct 14 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended its deadline for providing temporary housing for evacuees of Hurricane Ike in Louisiana. Gov. Bobby Jindal says FEMA will now provide temporary housing until Oct....
Wildfire Threatens Homes, Wineries in Napa Valley
Oct 13 2008 // Hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire that is threatening homes and wineries in California’s Napa Valley. Fire officials say the blaze burned 300 acres in the hills by Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, evening just...
AIR Describes Hurricane Norbert’s Passage over Baja California, Mexico
Oct 13 2008 // AIR Worldwide’s latest bulletin on Pacific Ocean Hurricane Norbert traces the storm’s passage over the southern Baja Peninsula, the Gulf of California, and its eventual landfall on the west coast of Mexico....
Best Lowers Debt Ratings on 3 Lehman-linked Cat Bonds
Oct 10 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the debt ratings to “c” from “b+” on $100 million principal at-risk variable rate Series 1, Class A notes of Ajax Re Ltd., to “c” from “bb+” on...
Hurricane Norbert Threatens Baja California
Oct 9 2008 // The most recent bulletin from Miami’s National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Norbert is now threatening “the Southern Baja California peninsula.” Maximum sustained winds are near 135 mph (215...
Donegal Insurance Reports 3Q to Reflect Hurricane, Securities Events
Oct 9 2008 // Marietta, Pennsylvania-based Donegal Group Inc. reported that its net income for the third quarter of 2008 will reflect realized investment losses related to its equity securities and claim activity resulting from...
Hurricane Ike’s Windstorm Costs Insurers $550 Million in Ohio Damages
Oct 9 2008 // Winds from Hurricane Ike will cost insurance companies at least $553.1 million to cover property damage and other losses in Ohio, making it the state’s most expensive natural disaster in more than three decades, a...
Ike Claims for Texas Windstorm Pool May be Less Than Expected
Oct 9 2008 // Two weeks after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 13, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the state’s insurer of last resort for wind coverage along the coast, was fielding thousands of claims per...
Endurance Releases Hurricane, Financial Loss Estimates
Oct 8 2008 // Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. announced its initial loss estimate related to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav at around $145 million pretax and net of reinsurance and reinstatement premium. The company also...
CCRIF Pays Turks and Caicos $6.3 Million in First Hurricane Recovery
Oct 8 2008 // The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has made its first ever hurricane payout from the multi-country risk pool. Turks and Caicos Premier the Hon. Dr. Michael Misick accepted $6.3 million from the...
Ohio’s Recent Windstorm Could Rival State’s Costliest at $600 Million
Oct 8 2008 // Ohio insurers say losses from last month’s windstorm will rival those from the state’s costliest natural disaster of recent decades. The 1974 tornado that devastated the western Ohio city of Xenia caused about...
