Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Congress To Be Warned of Increasing Natural Catastrophe Risk
Jun 13 2006 // Congressional Research Service (CRS) is hosting a seminar ar the U.S. Capitol Building today titled, “Insuring and Mitigating Risks of Large-Scale Disasters: Is Federal Disaster Insurance Needed?” There, AIR...
Texas Insurer Group Says Alberto May be Omen for Rest of Season
Jun 13 2006 // Tropical Storm Alberto should be a warning to all coastal residents in Texas that the 2006 hurricane season may exceed the expectations for an overly active storm season. The Insurance Council of Texas urges everyone...
Davis Makes Proposals to Fix Florida’s Property Insurance Problems
Jun 12 2006 // Windstorm insurance companies would have to cover water damage caused by hurricanes under a proposal Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis released June 9, part of a multi-pronged proposal to solve the problems...
Windstorm Insurance May Be Problem as Hurricane Season Begins
Jun 12 2006 // U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) values in coastal areas, and in particular smaller multifamily properties, may suffer as insurance companies reduce loss exposure to hurricane-prone areas by increasing premiums, raising...
Research Team to Study Genesis of Monsoon Storms
Jun 12 2006 // A team of researchers from Alabama and other states will train an array of instruments skyward in Arizona this summer for an unprecedented study of the genesis of monsoon storms. About 20 scientists will spend July and...
Florida Insurance Council Updates Hurricane Hotline List
Jun 12 2006 // A list of individual company “hotline” numbers that policyholders would use if Tropical Storm Alberto becomes more than a rainmaker, has been updated by the Florida Insurance Council in Tallahassee,...
Tropical Storm Alberto to Bring Heavy Rain to Florida on Tuesday
Jun 11 2006 // Tropical storm Alberto is predicted to bring much needed heavy rain to the Florida’s west coast and into southern Georgia early Tuesday Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami....
Bill Would Create N.J. Catastrophe Fund
Jun 8 2006 // New Jersey Assemblyman Mike Panter (D-Monmouth/Mercer) has filed legisaltion to create a premium-funded state pool to cover homeowners’ losses from natural catastrophes. Panter’s bill (A-3236), the New Jersey...
S&P Alters Approach to Gauging Insurers’ Terrorism Exposure
Jun 8 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it is changing its process for evaluating the terrorism exposure of insurers and reinsurers. The updated process is partly a response to the increased insurance retentions...
RMS Launches Eastern U.S. and Canada Earthquake Model
Jun 8 2006 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS), Newark, Calif., has updated its U.S. and Canada Earthquake models. “Earthquakes east of the Rockies are less common than in the tectonically active West, but can be more severe due to...
Study: Shaking Can Trigger Earthquake Aftershocks Miles from Epicenter
Jun 8 2006 // New research suggests earthquake shaking can trigger aftershocks many miles from the epicenter, countering the popular view that they tend to cluster near the main shock. That might help scientists forecast where...
Treasury Secretary Nominee Paulson Backed Terrorism Reinsurance Plan
Jun 8 2006 // The financier slated to be the country’s next Secretary of Treasury differs with his predecessor and the Bush Administration over the need for federal government involvement in providing terrorism reinsurance. At...
Swiss Re Places $950 Million in ‘Successor Programme’ Cat Bonds
Jun 7 2006 // Swiss Re has obtained $950 million worth of protection against North Atlantic Hurricanes, Europe Windstorms, Californian Earthquakes and Japan Earthquakes through a natural catastrophe protection program named...
S&P Assigns Ratings to Swiss Re’s ‘Successor Programme’ Notes
Jun 7 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its senior secured debt ratings to the principal at-risk variable-rate notes issued under Swiss Reinsurance Co.’s Successor shelf program (See previous...
