Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
State Farm Trying to Improve its Image After Hurricane Katrina
Aug 16 2006 // Representatives of State Farm Insurance Co. are on a media tour in Mississippi to give a more positive image to the company as it and others in the industry fend off lawsuits filed in the aftermath of Hurricane...
FEMA to Repay Nearly $56M to Texas for Hurricane Costs
Aug 16 2006 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse an additional $55.89 million to Houston and the Texas Department of Public Safety for costs associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, officials said. Houston will...
Average Insurance Premiums Remain Flat in Q2 Except in Hurricane Regions
Aug 16 2006 // According to the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.’s RIMS Benchmark Survey, commercial insurance premiums were flat to slightly lower in the second quarter of this year compared to the prior year. The RIMS...
Arizona Puts the Heat on Insurers for Wildfire Protection
Aug 15 2006 // As wildfire season stretches across the Western states from June through September, Christina Urias, director of the Arizona Department of Insurance, has lit a fire under agents and insurers to work with their clients to...
Best Affirms Glacier Re ‘A-‘ Ratings; Off Review; Outlook Negative
Aug 15 2006 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Swiss-based Glacier Reinsurance AG. Best also removed the ratings from...
Florida’s $250 Million Property Loss Mitigation Program Begins
Aug 15 2006 // Florida has begun My Safe Florida Home program, a $250 million mitigation program to help Floridians strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce property losses. Tom Gallagher, Florida’s chief financial...
Typhoon Saomai Kills 214; $1.4 Billion Damage Estimated
Aug 14 2006 // Authorities now put the death toll from Typhoon Saomai, which struck the southeastern coast of China last week, at 214. The storm, which came ashore near Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on Thursday, Aug. 10, packed winds in...
Insurers in Louisiana Agree to Extend Hurricane Lawsuit Deadline
Aug 14 2006 // Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon says nearly all of Louisiana’s homeowners insurance companies, including State Farm and Allstate, have complied with his order to extend the prescriptive period for policyholders...
Powerful Typhoon Kills 83 in China
Aug 11 2006 // The most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades raged across its southeastern coast Thursday, claiming at least 83 lives as it capsized ships, destroyed buildings and forced 1.5 million people from their...
PXRE Heads Towards Run-off
Aug 9 2006 // The Bermuda-based PXRE Group Ltd. reported its results for the second quarter of 2006, and further indicated that, barring some last minute “strategic alternative,” it is heading towards runoff. PXRE was...
Allied World Q2 Net up 43% to $102.4 Million; Conference Call Today
Aug 9 2006 // Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd. joined the many Bermuda-based insurers, who have turned in strong second quarter and first half results. The Company reported net income of $102.4 million, or $2.02 per diluted...
Hawaii Seeking Comments on Hurricane Retrofits
Aug 9 2006 // Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Jeffrey Schmidt is preparing to establish a program to provide grants for hurricane retrofits, otherwise known as wind resistive devices. The draft performance specifications for the wind...
Marine market responds to stressed property coverage demand
Aug 7 2006 // A recent Wall Street Journal story proclaimed, “As Hurricane Season Begins, Disaster Insurance Runs Short.” Indeed, the stark headline in the July 10 article mirrors the market reality: There is a severe lack...
Marine market responds to stressed catastrophic property coverage
Aug 7 2006 // A recent Wall Street Journal story proclaimed, “As Hurricane Season Begins, Disaster Insurance Runs Short.” Indeed, the stark headline in the July 10 article mirrors the market reality: There is a severe lack...
It figures
Aug 7 2006 // 100 The number of federal lawmakers from both parties that asked the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to put a hold on the efforts of various U.S. companies, including Wal-Mart, to open banks. Federal bank regulators halted...
Julie Benafield Bowman
Aug 7 2006 // Like insurance commissioners in other states, Arkansas Insurance Commis-sioner Julie Benafield Bowman, is keeping an eye on catastrophe issues and the availability of insurance related to them. Unlike commissioners in...
Marine market responds to stressed catastrophic property coverage
Aug 7 2006 // A recent Wall Street Journal story proclaimed, “As Hurricane Season Begins, Disaster Insurance Runs Short.” Indeed, the stark headline in the July 10 article mirrors the market reality: There is a severe lack...
Excess flood insurance — when the federal plan isn’t sufficient
Aug 7 2006 // The lessons learned from Katrina and Rita and predictions of a future with bigger and stronger storms highlight more than ever the importance of flood insurance, even in locations where it was previously thought...
Florida offers grants to encourage hurricane damage mitigation
Aug 7 2006 // Florida’s Department of Financial Services is working out the details of a program offering grants of up to $5,000 to homeowners who take steps to mitigate hurricane damages. Individual matching grants of up to...
Fighting future losses in the midst of fire season
Aug 7 2006 // With 68,775 blazes already this year, the 2006 wildfire season is well on its way to becoming the worst in 10 years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Its data shows 5.03 million acres have burned,...
