Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Report: U.S. Rails with Hazardous Materials Vulnerable to Terrorists

Jan 18 2007 // Train lines that carry hazardous shipments have little or no police presence and shoddy security that makes them easy targets for terrorists, according to a newspaper investigation. During a several-month, nationwide...

Ind. Leads Country with Highest Catastrophe Losses in 2006

Jan 18 2007 // In a year where coastal states endured no major tropical storms, Indiana saw more property damage due to large weather events than any other state (in 2006), according to statistical firm the Insurance Services Office...

La. Resident Pleads Guilty to Hurricane-Related Federal Fraud Charge

Jan 18 2007 // A Louisiana resident pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on a charge of fraud related to hurricane disaster relief programs, U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas of the Middle District of...

Fla. Session Day 1: Expanding State’s Hurricane Cat Fund Tops the Agenda

Jan 17 2007 // When Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio and State Senate President Ken Pruitt slammed their gavels in opposite sides of the Florida Capitol Tuesday signaling commencement of a special legislative session, the hopes and...

Burns & Wilcox To Offer Commercial Earthquake Coverage

Jan 16 2007 // Burns & Wilcox, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based national specialty insurance wholesaler, underwriter and managing general agent, is offering of a new commercial “all risks” property program that includes...

La. Recovery Panel to Study Storm Catastrophe Fund

Jan 15 2007 // The state’s top hurricane recovery panel will study whether Louisiana should consider creating a catastrophe fund that would provide financial backup for insurers because of hurricane risks. The key area for review...

Marsh Facility Delivers Property Cat ‘Sidecar’ Directly to Corporations

Jan 12 2007 // Marsh Inc. has launched of MaRI (Marsh Risk Innovations), an insurance facility designed to provide additional capacity to the depleted property catastrophe insurance market this year. According to Marsh, this new facility...

P/C Execs Expect Terrorism Insurance Renewal, Win in Katrina Suits

Jan 11 2007 // Leaders of the property/casualty insurance industry expect Congress to extend the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act in 2007, according to a survey conducted by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) at its 11th annual...

Earthquake Rattles Two Southeastern Oklahoma Towns

Jan 11 2007 // Oklahoma’s first earthquake of 2007 rattles two small southeastern towns, authorities said. No damage or injuries were reported when the 2.5 temblor hit the western Coal County communities of Tupelo and Clarita about...

Citation Re Offers Stand-Alone Terrorism Coverage

Jan 9 2007 // Citation Re, a New York- based reinsurance company, is making available terrorism coverage for suburban risks. This stand-alone terrorism coverage has limits up to $65 million. Citation Re also announced the promotion of...

Monsoon Floods Hit Malaysia

Jan 9 2007 // Flooding from monsoon rains hit northern and eastern Malaysia as thousands of victims in a southern state waited for waters to recede in homes inundated weeks ago, news reports said Monday. Villages and towns in Kelantan,...

RMS Purchases HailCalc Europe

Jan 9 2007 // Newark Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions, a leading provider of products and services for the management of natural hazard risk, announced the acquisition of HailCalc Europe, which it described as “the first...

Consumer Federation: Insurers Increase Profit Levels by Overpricing Policies

Jan 8 2007 // National consumer organizations joined the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today in Washington D.C. to release a new study concluding that the property/casualty insurance industry (which includes the nation’s...

Bi-cycling

Jan 8 2007 // What a difference a year makes. The U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through the first nine months of 2006. For the same period in 2005, it lost $2.5 billion. Insurers and...

Insurance priorities for the U.S. Senate

Jan 8 2007 // Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is the incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over flood and terrorism insurance, as well as over regulation of insurance, credit...

Tornadoes deliver Christmas disaster for Floridians

Jan 8 2007 // Four Christmas Day tornadoes damaged hundreds of Florida homes, with one flipping airplanes at a flight school and tearing the roofs off three apartment buildings, according to officials. Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of...

Insurance priorities for the U.S. Senate

Jan 8 2007 // Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is the incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over flood and terrorism insurance, as well as over regulation of insurance, credit...

Insurance priorities for the U.S. Senate

Jan 8 2007 // Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is the incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over flood and terrorism insurance, as well as over regulation of insurance, credit...

Bi-cycling

Jan 8 2007 // What a difference a year makes. The U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through the first nine months of 2006. For the same period in 2005, it lost $2.5 billion. Insurers and...

Insurance priorities for the U.S. Senate

Jan 8 2007 // Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is the incoming chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which has jurisdiction over flood and terrorism insurance, as well as over regulation of insurance, credit...