Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Damage Costs Mount From Gustav
Sep 22 2008 // As Hurricane Ike loomed in the Gulf of Mexico, insurers and officials in Gulf Coast states were still tallying damage costs from Hurricane Gustav, which swept into Louisiana on Sept. 1. Switzerland-based global reinsurer,...
More to Come in Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season
Sep 22 2008 // The 10 tropical storms and hurricanes that ripped through the Atlantic and Caribbean during this busy hurricane season savaged Haiti, Cuba and the U.S. Gulf coast, and conditions are now ripe for more. Residents of the...
Organizations Opposed to U.S. Insurance Tax Bill Issue Statement
Sep 22 2008 // The Coalition for Competitive Insurance Rates, which groups a number of organizations that oppose to the latest attempt to amend U.S. tax laws on foreign insurers, has issued a bulletin outlining the reasons why they...
Defending Properties Against Natural Catastrophes
Sep 22 2008 // Build Smart With Passive Protection Systems, Safety Institute CEO Says To hear Julie Rochman tell it, she’d like every community in the United States to be resilient in the face of natural disasters. Rochman,...
Hurricane and Political Seasons Stir Up National Cat Plan Proposals
Sep 22 2008 // As Losses Mount for Insurers, More Proposals for a National Solution Emerge Neither Gustav nor Ike walloped the property/casualty insurance industry the way Katrina did but there is still concern in insurance and...
Study Finds Economic Costs of Federal Cat Legislation Significant
Sep 22 2008 // Taxpayers In At Least 20 States Could Face Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Burden Natural catastrophe legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and pending in the U.S. Senate would create a multi-billion dollar...
Time for Barry and Shenise
Sep 22 2008 // Astute observers of recent political history may recall the story of Harry and Louise — the fictional couple created by a health insurance industry lobbying group in 1994. In political television ads at the time, the...
How Agents Prepared and Fared as Gustav Hit Gulf States
Sep 22 2008 // On the morning of Sept. 1, Gustav’s eye made landfall on the Louisiana coast just shy of Category 3 status. Experts estimate Gustav caused about $8 billion to $10 billion in insured damage. On Aug. 29 as Hurricane...
Early Estimates of Ike Damage: $6B to $18B
Sep 22 2008 // The Real Numbers Won’t be Known for Weeks Estimates of insured damage from Hurricane Ike vary widely — from $8 billion to $16 billion, according to several catastrophe risk modeling firms, but Texas Insurance...
Hurricane Ike: We’re All Connected
Sep 22 2008 // When it was all over, six people were dead, expressways remained flooded in every direction, 1,000 people were evacuated, schools closed and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagoevich had declared seven counties in Illinois as emergency...
Texas, Louisiana Enact Emergency Rules for Hurricane Relief
Sep 22 2008 // Insurance regulators in both Texas and Louisiana have enacted emergency rules aimed at providing relief for insurance consumers in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued...
Defending Properties Against Natural Catastrophes
Sep 22 2008 // Build Smart With Passive Protection Systems, Safety Institute CEO Says To hear Julie Rochman tell it, she’d like every community in the United States to be resilient in the face of natural disasters. Rochman,...
Defending Properties Against Natural Catastrophes
Sep 22 2008 // Build Smart With Passive Protection Systems, Safety Institute CEO Says To hear Julie Rochman tell it, she’d like every community in the United States to be resilient in the face of natural disasters. Rochman,...
Rhode Island Marks 70th Anniversary of Its Most Destructive Storm
Sep 21 2008 // Downtown Providence was flooded and neighborhoods were destroyed. A group of school children who drowned after their bus was swept off the road were among the hundreds killed. It’s been 70 years since a catastrophic...
Best Puts Lehman Linked Cat Bonds Under Review – Negative
Sep 19 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has placed the debt ratings of “bb” on Series 2008-1, Class A $150 million principal at-risk variable rate notes of Newton Re Limited, “bb+” on Class B Series 2007-1, $250 million...
Hurricane Gustav Disaster Declaration Extended for Louisiana
Sep 19 2008 // Twenty-five Louisiana parishes are now able to get federal aid to rebuild their buildings and facilities damaged by Hurricane Gustav. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended its Gustav disaster declaration in...
Storm Surge Not Covered in Texas Windstorm Association Policies
Sep 19 2008 // A Texas consumer group took issue with the state-chartered windstorm insurance association over its refusal to pay coastal residents for storm surge damage in Hurricane Ike. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says...
South Carolina Coastal Risk Conference Garners Insurer Support
Sep 18 2008 // The American Insurance Association is participating in this week’s conference “Out of the Storm: Confronting America’s Catastrophic Risk Crisis,” organized by the South Carolina Department of...
Hurricane Ike Tests Texas Windstorm Association’s Ability to Pay Claims
Sep 18 2008 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) on Sept. 17 announced that anticipated claims from Hurricane Ike will force it to use the entire $370 million remainder of its Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund, according to...
Hurricane Ike to Cost Insurers $7B to $12B, RMS Says in Revised Tally
Sep 18 2008 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the catastrophe risk modeling firm, has refined its estimate for U.S. onshore and offshore insured losses from Hurricane Ike to $7 to $12 billion from its original estimate of $6 to $16...
