Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
RMS Estimates High Level of Hurricane Activity for 2008-2012
Dec 7 2007 // Risk Management Solutions has confirmed its modeled hurricane activity rates for 2008 to 2012, following “an elicitation with a group of the world’s leading hurricane researchers.” The forecast concludes...
RiskMeter Adds Florida Wildfire Report to Natural Hazard Report Service
Dec 5 2007 // Online hazard mapping firm, CDS Business Mapping LLC., added a Florida Wildfire report to its RiskMeter Online natural hazard risk report service. By typing in an address, RiskMeter’s wildfire report will return a...
Storms Threaten Southern California Wildfire Areas with Mudslides
Dec 3 2007 // Southern California’s weather turned from dangerously dry to extremely wet Friday as storms brought the threat of mudslides and flash floods to areas burned by recent wildfires, causing evacuation orders. Residents...
A Nod to Dodd
Dec 2 2007 // Sen. Trent Lott, R- Miss., appears to have quieted down since his Hurricane Katrina claim has been settled, so perhaps people will start listening to other senators in Washington on property insurance and natural disaster...
Catastrophic Events Raise Business Interruption Coverage Questions
Dec 2 2007 // Considering the number of people who lived and worked in the area, the destruction of the World Trade Center complex was the functional equivalent of obliterating a small- to medium-sized city. Several recent and...
A Nod to Dodd
Dec 2 2007 // Sen. Trent Lott, R- Miss., appears to have quieted down since his Hurricane Katrina claim has been settled, so perhaps people will start listening to other senators in Washington on property insurance and natural disaster...
Malibu, Calif., Faces Wildfires, Again
Dec 2 2007 // For the second time in a little more than a month, residents in Malibu, Calif., faced destruction caused by wildfires. The coastal community had been recovering from October’s 4,565-acre Canyon Fire that destroyed...
S&P Report Examines Calif. Earthquake Insurance
Dec 2 2007 // The Golden State got a jolt on Oct. 30 with a 5.6 magnitude earthquake just outside of San Jose. An article published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, “Is California’s Earthquake Insurance...
From Insurance Consumer to Commissioner
Dec 2 2007 // While the position of California Insurance Commissioner is elected and there are already rumblings that he’d make a good gubernatorial candidate in 2010, current California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says...
Safeco Estimates Calif. Wildfire Losses at $35 Million
Dec 2 2007 // Frank Santoya, a member of the California Fire Office of the State Fire Marshall, walks through the rubble as he surveys the fire damage in the Rancho Barnardo neighborhood of San Diego on Oct. 30, 2007 (AP Photo/Rick...
Senate Approves Terrorism Insurance Backstop Extension
Dec 2 2007 // The Senate passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) of 2007, its version of legislation that will extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop. The current federal terrorism reinsurance...
N.D. Insurance Department Issues $4 Million Check to Northwood School
Nov 30 2007 // The state Insurance Department says it has issued a $4 million check to the Northwood School District in advance of a claim settlement for damage from the Aug. 26 tornado that ripped through the community. The...
Survey: 22,700-Plus Wildfire Insurance Claims Filed in Calif.
Nov 29 2007 // The Insurance Information Network of California has confirmed that at least 22,700 claims filed from October’s Southern California fire and wind storms. The tally includes at least 2,000 insurance claims for damage...
Hurricances Spare U.S., Leaving Officials Worried About Public Apathy, Flood Policy Nonrenewals
Nov 29 2007 // Despite alarming predictions, the U.S. came through a second straight hurricane season virtually unscathed, raising fears among emergency planners that they will be fighting public apathy and overconfidence when they warn...
Miss.: Gautier Elementary set to reopen 2 years after Hurricane Katrina
Nov 27 2007 // Monday marked the first day of classes at Gautier, Miss., Elementary School since Hurricane Katrina flooded and damaged the building in 2005. The city’s oldest school, built in 1940, was repaired with money from...
Lexington Ups Capacity on Bio-Chemical Terrorism Coverage
Nov 27 2007 // Lexington Insurance Company, a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), has increased capacity of its BioChem Shield product from $10 million to $25 million. BioChem Shield is Lexington’s coverage...
Numbers of Mo. Homeowners Buying Earthquake Insurance Drops
Nov 26 2007 // The cost of earthquake insurance has gone up in Missouri, and the number of people buying it has gone down. Figures from the state Department of Insurance show that earthquake coverage was carried on fewer than 38 percent...
Wind-Driven Wildfire Strikes Malibu Again, 49 Homes Destroyed
Nov 26 2007 // Glen Sunyich has seen flames ravage the canyons and mountains above Malibu, Calif., three times and has been thankful his home was spared. The fourth time, he wasn’t so lucky. Sunyich’s home was among 49, along...
Virtual Conference: Economic Impact from Absence of Hurricanes in Fla.
Nov 26 2007 // Florida has been spared landfall by a hurricane for a second consecutive year, but residents should not be lulled into a sense of false security, cautions Sam Miller of the Florida Insurance Council. The 2007 hurricane...
Catastrophic Events Raise Business Interruption Questions
Nov 18 2007 // Agents advised to discuss extended coverage provisions and contingent business interruption insurance Several recent and relatively recent events — the wildfires in southern California, Hurricane Katrina in August 2005...
