Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
N.Y. City, other U.S. centers need federal terrorism insurance to compete globally, says Supt. Dinallo
Mar 12 2007 // News Currents A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by...
Tim Wagner, Nebraska, Director of Insurance
Mar 12 2007 // Director of Insurance L. Tim Wagner has spent close to 40 years in the insurance industry, the last nine as the appointed Nebraska regulator. He takes his role seriously and believes the insurance industry has a real...
Julie Mix McPeak, Kentucky, Executive Director, Office of Insurance
Mar 12 2007 // Julie Mix McPeak, an attorney with more than a decade of experience in state government, was appointed executive director of the Kentucky Office of Insurance (KOI) by Gov. Ernie Fletcher last June. McPeak succeeded Glenn...
Multistate natural disaster proposal garners mixed reaction
Mar 12 2007 // News Currents Insurance officials in Florida, where a spate of hurricanes have set the industry into turmoil, pitched the idea recently of multistate insurance pools for natural disasters to their colleagues from across...
Lessons learned from Katrina and beyond
Mar 12 2007 // The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season came and went with barely a blip — despite initial projections by some that there would be two to five major hurricanes that year. How could insurance industry predictions be so...
Chicago Exchange offering futures contracts on ’07 hurricanes
Mar 12 2007 // The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is launching contracts that will allow insurers and others to hedge risk against hurricane damage. The exchange, a unit of CME Holdings Inc., is teaming up with Carvill Group, a reinsurance...
Caribbean nations establish joint disaster insurance pool
Mar 12 2007 // Caribbean countries joined by outside donors and international and regional organizations established a $47 million insurance pool to soften the blow from earthquakes and hurricanes. Called the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk...
Number of catastrophe-related laws enacted rose significantly in 2006
Mar 12 2007 // Enacted catastrophe-related laws increased dramatically in the states last year, according to the annual survey of state insurance laws prepared by an insurance group. “Ten states enacted 17 catastrophe-related bills...
Industry gears up for more federal terrorism insurance debates
Mar 12 2007 // News Currents Insurance industry advocates urged Congress yet again to continue with a federal government role in terrorism risk insurance and to examine long-term solutions before the current backstop legislation, the...
Swiss Re <em>sigma</em> Study Details 2006 Natural, Man-made Disasters
Mar 9 2007 // In its just released sigma study, “Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2006”, Swiss Re notes that “losses due to natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were below the long-term trend in...
Munich Re Releases 2006 Nat Cat Report; Focus on Climate Change
Mar 8 2007 // In a just released report – “Topics Geo — Natural catastrophes 2006” – Munich Re maintains that “continuing unfavorable natural climate cycle and additional effects of global warming will...
New AIG Unit Formed to Help Manage Terrorism Exposure and Risks
Mar 7 2007 // The AIG Companies announced the formation of AIG Homeland Security Solutions. The new specialty unit will provide access to insurance, risk management and security products and services to help companies work to prevent,...
Violent Weather Bypassing Texas; Drought to Linger
Mar 7 2007 // The drought-like weather conditions that have plagued much of the state for the past three years have had a positive effect in limiting the number of damaging hailstorms and tornadoes in Texas. Meteorologists say the lack...
Guy Carpenter, MMC Securities Release Cat Bond Survey
Mar 6 2007 // Guy Carpenter & Co., the global risk and reinsurance specialist of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, and its affiliate MMC Securities Corp. have published their fifth annual Cat Bond survey: “Catastrophe Bond...
Kentucky Guardsmen, Emergency Teams Practice Earthquake Drills
Mar 6 2007 // National Guardsmen and emergency management officials in 13 western Kentucky counties spent last week responding to an earthquake that hadn’t actually occurred. The exercise simulated response to a magnitude 7.5...
Hurricane Rita’s Claims Total $5.8B in Texas and Louisiana
Mar 6 2007 // The final tally for the cost of claims from Hurricane Rita in both Louisiana and Texas came to $5.8 billion. Hurricane Rita’s 120 mile per hour winds plowed into the Texas/Louisiana border on Sept. 24, 2005, one...
D.C. Chief Hampton Backs Terrorism Insurance, But Not National Cat Plan
Mar 6 2007 // Renewal of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act is “very, very important” for the District of Columbia, yet a federal government plan to help cover natural disasters would be unfair, in the eyes...
In Manhattan: Agents, Insurers Renew Call for Federal Terrorism Insurance
Mar 5 2007 // In the heart of the world’s financial markets, insurance agents and companies today urged Congress to protect the country’s economic stability by ensuring availability of terrorism risk insurance through a...
U.S. Needs Terrorism Insurance to Compete Globally, Says N.Y.’s Dinallo
Mar 5 2007 // A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by similar...
Fla. Home Premiums Could Fall 10%-50% Under New Reinsurance Law
Mar 5 2007 // Florida homeowners could see average property insurance savings ranging from around 10 percent in the Panhandle to more than half the cost of their policy in South Florida because of a new law, state insurance officials...
