Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Earthquake Insurance Rates Decreasing
Jun 20 2006 // California earthquake insurance policies issued by the California Earthquake Authority will see rate decreases by an average of 22.1 percent, said Nancy Kinkaid, CEA spokeswoman. Approximately 85 percent of CEA...
IRS Issues Tax Guidance for Hurricane Victims, Extends Filing Deadlines
Jun 20 2006 // The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to assist Hurricane Katrina, Rita and Wilma victims claiming casualty and theft losses on their individual income tax returns. The IRS also extended filing deadlines for...
CEOs, Concerned About Capacity and Pricing, Stress Underwriting Discipline
Jun 20 2006 // Although property casualty insurance capacity still exists in some areas in the U.S.’s east coast, the rate at which it is vanishing, especially in coastal areas, as well as the steep prices being offered for...
Allstate dropping most earthquake coverage nationwide
Jun 19 2006 // Allstate Insurance Co. says it is dropping earthquake insurance to most of its 407,000 quake customers nationwide as a part of a larger move to reduce exposure to catastrophic losses. Allstate Spokesman Mike Siemienas in...
Cat model reassessments cause rating and capital changes
Jun 19 2006 // Last fall’s disastrous hurricanes provided some rough times for the catastrophe modeling industry. Consequently the principal cat modelers — Applied Insurance Research, EQE International’s EQECAT, and...
Lloyd’s forecast for Northeast: Storms, global warming threats are real
Jun 19 2006 // The prospect of another nasty hurricane season has everyone in the insurance industry braced for a white-knuckle ride. The spectre of a hurricane hitting a major Northeast population center is hardly the stuff of Hollywood...
Illinois freshman regulator McRaith gives insurance view from Midwest
Jun 19 2006 // Question: What is the specific impact of the 2005 catastrophes on the Midwest? McRaith: There are three identifiable impacts on Midwestern residents. First, since the cost of reinsurance has gone up so significantly...
Hurricanes
Jun 19 2006 // Miss. Katrina Claims 3,693 hurricane claims settled. $5,211,899 in payments, a 1,721 percent increase in secured payments between Jan. 1 and April 30. Previous record, 2005, $4 million. A&H increase 316 percent. Cathy...
Crist reaches $609,000 settlement in hurricane price gouging
Jun 19 2006 // ANorth Carolina-based company has reached a settlement to resolve Florida price gouging allegations stemming from the 2004 hurricane season, according to Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist. Crist said Southeastern...
Crist reaches $609,000 settlement in hurricane price gouging
Jun 19 2006 // ANorth Carolina-based company has reached a settlement to resolve Florida price gouging allegations stemming from the 2004 hurricane season, according to Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist. Crist identified the company...
News Currents
Jun 19 2006 // CAT response vehicle ready just in time for Tropical Storm Alberto Florida insurance agents rolled out a new, state-of-the-art catastrophe response vehicle just in time for the arrival of Tropical Storm Alberto. At press...
Declarations
Jun 19 2006 // Taking responsibility for levee failure ‘This is the first time that the Corps has had to stand up and say, `We’ve had a catastrophic failure.’ … Words alone will not restore trust in the...
Editor’s Note: Commercial property appeal
Jun 19 2006 // According to Fitch, increases are running between 25 percent and 400 percent for windstorm and flood insurance premiums since the June 1 start of this year’s hurricane season. Six hurricanes in 2005 caused $57.3...
A tale of two New Orleans hotels
Jun 19 2006 // If there’s anything to be learned from last year’s hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, it’s that the value of relationships before, during and after a claim is immeasurable, according to Mel Bangs,...
High-hazard tsunami states could lose precious funding, GAO finds
Jun 19 2006 // The Pacific coast states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, face the greatest tsunami hazard, but West Coast states could see the...
Editor’s Note: An idea that’s sunk?
Jun 19 2006 // The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to provide funding for the majority of states in the nation to prepare for catastrophic tsunamis. That seems like a sound plan, but is it watertight? A recent...
Tropical Depression: Hurricane linked to long-term mental distress
Jun 19 2006 // Do earthquakes and hurricanes affect mental health? Florida State University sociologists in Tallahassee have found that some South Floridians who survived Hurricane Andrew suffered mental health problems many years later,...
Catastrophe Claims Cards Latest Option for Accessing Insurance Funds
Jun 15 2006 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., starting July 15, it will be offering its property insurance policyholders a new tool for accessing emergency claims payments after a catastrophic event. In addition to...
Three Insurers Sue To Recover Claims Paid in ’02 Wildfire
Jun 15 2006 // Three insurance companies filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to recover $7.04 million in claims paid for homes damaged or destroyed in the 2002 Hayman Fire in Colorado. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. Inc., three...
Tenn. Still Rebuilding After April Tornadoes
Jun 14 2006 // Insurance claims from the April tornadoes in Tennessee have climbed to $452 million, and some homeowners and business owners say their efforts to rebuild are being slowed by settlement delays and swamped...
