Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Agent Group Supports Increase in Windstorm Limits
May 4 2006 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas announced its support of the proposal by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to increase commercial and government building limits to $3 million. IIAT Executive...
Businesses Call for Federal Outreach on Long-Term Terrorism Solution
May 4 2006 // The business-backed Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) says it welcomes the recent request by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) for public comments on a long-term terrorism insurance...
Fla. Calls for Federal Insurance Subsidy
May 4 2006 // The insurance crisis is not a Florida problem, it is a national problem that demands national solutions, Tom Gallagher, Florida CFO, said after applauding the Florida Legislature for calling on Congress to create a...
N.Y. Supt. Mills Urges Tax-Deferred Catastrophe Reserves for Insurers
May 4 2006 // The country may not need a natural catastrophe backup fund like it has for terrorism exposures, provided government allows insurers to create catastrophe reserves on a tax-deferred basis, according to New York’...
‘Miss Piggy,’ NOAA Aircrew, Hurricane Center Forecasters Visiting Ala., Fla.
May 3 2006 // Forecasters from the NOAA National Hurricane Center will join the air crew from the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center on hurricane hunter aircraft visits March 3, 4 and 5 to Mobile, Ala., West Palm Beach, Fla. and Tampa,...
Chesapeake Bay Warning: Storm Surges Could Top Isabel’s in 2003
May 2 2006 // New computer simulations by government scientists show that hurricane storm surges in the Chesapeake Bay could get dramatically worse than the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003. Under some conditions, the...
Minn. Officials Look for Ways to Teach Immigrants What Tornado Sirens Mean
May 2 2006 // Officials in Minnesota are looking for ways to teach new immigrants what tornado sirens mean. Mao Thao had no idea what it meant the first time she heard a tornado siren go off. The recently arrived Hmong refugee spoke no...
The Harford Saw Record First Quarter Net Income; Added 250 Agents
May 1 2006 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., out of Hartford, Conn., reported first quarter 2006 net income of $728 million, or $2.34 per diluted share. The Hartford’s core earnings in the first quarter of 2006 were...
NOAA Aircrew Begins Hurricane Awareness Mission in Texas
May 1 2006 // With the impact of a record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season still etched on the coastline from Texas to Florida, and recovery on the minds of its residents, forecasters from the NOAA National Hurricane Center will...
Gallagher Calls On Lawmakers to Make Insurance Reforms
May 1 2006 // As state lawmakers enter the home stretch of the 2006 legislative session, Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CFO, renewed his call for immediate rate-relief, improved access to property coverage and reforms to help strengthen...
Gov. Bush Recommends $565M Hurricane Preparedness Budget
Apr 28 2006 // A $565 million hurricane preparedness budget which includes funding for response and recovery recommendations has been recommended by Gov. Jeb Bush and Lt. Governor Toni Jennings. According to Gov. Bush, the...
Fla. Approves 12-Day Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday
Apr 28 2006 // Governor Jeb Bush has signed legislation authorizing Florida’s second annual 12-day sales tax holiday for hurricane preparedness. The Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday is an important component of Governor...
Survey Says Risk Managers Spent More on Disaster Preparedness, Catastrophe Management
Apr 27 2006 // Spending for loss control services increased or remained flat for a majority of organizations in the past year, and the greatest spending increases occurred in such areas as disaster preparedness and catastrophe...
Fla. Insurance Council Describes Pending Legislation
Apr 27 2006 // The Florida House Insurance Committee and the House Fiscal Council have approved CS/CS/HB 7225, and according to the Florida Insurance Council, the next stop is the full House. FIC released a side-by-side comparison of...
La. Credit Score Bill May Harm Consumers, AIA Says
Apr 27 2006 // The Louisiana House Insurance Committee has passed legislation (H.B. 318) regarding a ban on the use of credit scoring information from 2005, which will negatively affect consumers and the overall insurance market in...
Actuaries to White House: Federal Insurance Backstop Needed
Apr 27 2006 // The American Academy of Actuaries, in response to questions posed by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, has submitted its terrorism risk insurance analysis, which concludes that a national framework...
U.S. Commercial Brokers Reiterate Call for Terrorism Backstop
Apr 25 2006 // The commercial insurance marketplace cannot effectively price and underwrite terrorism coverage because there still is no effective modeling, so any long-term solution to the terrorism risk coverage must involve the...
Zurich’s CEO Comments on Results, Future Plans at Annual Meeting
Apr 24 2006 // Zurich Financial Services’ Annual General Meeting, held April 20, evinced the considerable turn around in its fortunes under the direction of CEO James J. Schiro, who took over the faltering giant in May 2002. In his...
Willis’ Sees ‘Tumultuous Times’ for Natural Catastrophe Market
Apr 21 2006 // A bulletin from global broker Willis Group Holdings in the April 2006 online edition of “Marketplace Realities and Risk Management Solutions” describes events in the natural catastrophe (Nat Cat) segment of the...
Insurers Expected to Pay $1.38B for Q1 Cat Losses
Apr 20 2006 // U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay an estimated $1.38 billion to homeowners and businesses in insured property losses from seven catastrophe events in first-quarter 2006, according to preliminary analysis...
