Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Miss. Hurricane Victims to Lose Subsidized Hotel Rooms
Feb 13 2006 // More than 1,200 families left homeless in Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina will lose their federally subsidized hotel rooms beginning Monday. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Saturday that hotel...
Expert Has ‘Bad News:’ 06′ Hurricane Season Could Repeat 05′
Feb 10 2006 // There is no reason to expect any change in hurricane patterns in the near future, the number of hurricanes have been increasing since 1995 and will continue to do so for the next decade or two, according to Max Mayfield,...
Best Report: What Price is Right? Who Will Blink First? Asks Industry
Feb 9 2006 // Those new to property and casualty insurance are reportedly first struck by the cyclical nature of the industry. Generally, extended periods of soft pricing are followed by much shorter periods of hard pricing. After three...
Fairfax Sees Q4 Loss of $318M
Feb 9 2006 // Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited had a net loss of $318.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 and $497.9 million for the 2005 year. The falls come after absorbing losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and...
Past, Present and Future Hurricane Issues Top Feb. 8-11 Windstorm Conference Agenda
Feb 8 2006 // Past, present and future hurricane issues, how to prepare for the 2006 hurricane season and what to expect will be discussed during the Feb. 8 to 11 Seventh Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference and Exhibit kicking off...
Argonaut Group Reports Record 2005 Results Despite Hurricanes
Feb 8 2006 // San Antonio-based Argonaut Group Inc. announced financial results for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2005, noting that the company’s gross written premiums topped $1 billion for the first time in its...
Fla. CFO Wants to Expedite Payments for Living Expenses, Personal Contents
Feb 7 2006 // New legislation that would expedite the rebuilding process for hurricane victims will be suggested to the Florida Legislature by Tom Gallagher, the state’s CFO. The measure would ensure homeowners immediately receive...
Wisconsin Insurer Warns Buyers About Post-Hurricane Vehicle Fraud
Feb 7 2006 // Sun Prairie, Wis.-based General Casualty Insurance Companies are cautioning customers about the possibility that the shiny pre-owned Honda or Buick being considered for purchase may have been submerged in flood...
RenaissanceRe Sees Q4 Operating Loss of $207M
Feb 7 2006 // Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. reported a net operating loss attributable to common shareholders of $206.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, principally reflecting a $313.9 million net negative impact from...
AXIS Capital Notes Profitable Year; Reports Net Income of $90.1M
Feb 7 2006 // Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited reported net income available to common shareholders of $90.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, or $0.57 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $495.0...
XL Capital Reports Q4 2005 Net Loss of Nearly $822M
Feb 7 2006 // Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. has reported a net loss to ordinary shareholders for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005 of $821.9 million, or a net loss of $5.51 per ordinary share, compared with net income of $288.0 million,...
Aon Impact Forecasting Team Releases Report on Atlantic Storms
Feb 6 2006 // It was a year with more storms in the Atlantic than any other on record, and it was also the costliest hurricane season ever. Impact Forecasting, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aon Corporation, studies some of the possible...
PartnerRe Sees Q4 Net Loss of $33.6M
Feb 6 2006 // Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. reported a net loss of $33.6 million, or $0.76 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2005. This net loss includes net after-tax realized gains on investments of $37.0 million or $0.66 per share....
The big one
Feb 6 2006 // Is this the year Texas will be hit by the “big one?” Last year, Louisiana and Mississippi got hammered, Alabama and Florida, too, along with the year before. The big one, of course, is a hurricane–a...
Insurers seek bond measures for Texas catastrophe fund
Feb 6 2006 // Taking a cue from the Scout motto “Be Prepared,” a group of insurers is recommending legislation that would allow for generating funds to help pay for the reconstruction of the Texas coast should a powerful...
Time to reflect on hurricane lessons learned
Feb 6 2006 // There is no doubt that 2005’s unprecedented hurricane season stretched the human resources of the entire claims industry. Qualified, experienced adjusters were in high demand and short supply. While there are still...
Government estimates its cost under terrorism insurance extension
Feb 6 2006 // The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a government cost of $1.5 billion through the next 10 years under the legislation extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2005 (S. 467). However, despite weighing...
TREASURY CLARIFIES LIABILITY UNDER TERRORISM REINSURANCE
Feb 6 2006 // Insurers writing monoline farm policies and incidental professional liability coverage may face additional work to clarify coverage for their insureds under the federal terrorism reinsurance program. Officials of the U.S....
Editor’s Note: Who will be Florida’s governor?
Feb 5 2006 // Two Democrat and two Republican candidates are in an all-out battle to gain support as the candidate for governor. Visibility, action and the public’s conception of how the candidate’s actions affected them...
Colorado State U. review finds 2005 hurricane season ‘Most active
Feb 5 2006 // A list of the 2005 hurricane season’s most unique characteristics and facts has been released by Colorado State University. A CSU statement said that the just-completed hurricane season was the most active and...
