Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Estimates in Swiss Re <em>sigma</em> Study Confirm 2005 as Costliest Ever
Dec 21 2005 // Ever since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, 2005 looked certain to be a record-breaking year for insured losses. Swiss Re’s newly issued sigma report has now confirmed the sad fact. According to preliminary...
National Newsbriefs
Dec 19 2005 // House Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill: Legislation that will extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for an additional two years passed the House of Representatives floor by a vote of 371 to 49. The Senate already...
LACKING EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE:
Dec 19 2005 // Barely four out of every 10 Missouri homeowners carry earthquake insurance, a cause of concern cited as Gov. Matt Blunt heard briefings on the state’s earthquake preparations. Blunt held a closed-door Cabinet meeting...
Hurricane Katrina Leads to Large Number of Claims, Frustration
Dec 19 2005 // While Hurricane Katrina spent only a couple of days menacing the Gulf Coast, the trail of destruction in both lives and properties lingers on months later. As places like New Orleans, Mississippi and other surrounding...
States Urged to Prepare for Catastrophes by Enforcing Smarter Land Use
Dec 19 2005 // The country needs to consider where and how it builds if it is to avoid the worst effects of another Hurricane Katrina or Sept. 11 attack, according to experts at the recent National Conference of Insurance Legislators...
Insurance Commissioners Push Framework for National Cat Program
Dec 19 2005 // Insurance regulators, on the heels of the National Catastrophe Insurance Summit in Burlingame, Calif., in November, are peddling the framework for a national catastrophe insurance program they say would protect U.S....
Lloyd’s Hurricane Losses Top $ 5 Billion
Dec 19 2005 // In an updated statement, Lloyd’s acknowledged that it now estimates the London market’s combined losses from the three hurricanes that struck the U.S. will exceed $5 billion. The new figures are based on the...
Five Major Hurricanes Expected in 2006
Dec 19 2005 // Seventeen named storms could strike the Atlantic basin next year, with nine developing into hurricanes, if predictions by William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University based in Ft. Collins come true. They...
Preparing for Worst, Cat Modelers Say More Destruction Ahead
Dec 19 2005 // Florida has survived eight hurricanes in 15 months, but more destruction is coming, according to risk modeling companies and economists speaking at the National Catastrophe In-surance Summit in Burlingame,...
Role of Government, All-Perils Policy Among Sticking Points Cited by Insurers
Dec 19 2005 // Role of Government, All-Perils Policy Among Sticking Points Cited by Insurers Industry representatives generally support state regulators’ efforts to craft a comprehensive plan for natural catastrophes but take issue...
Insurance Actuaries Prepared for Even More Damaging Hurricanes
Dec 19 2005 // Despite the unprecedented nature of the four hurricanes making landfall in Florida in 2004 and the huge disasters spawned in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, panelists at the recent annual meeting of the Casualty Actuarial...
Opportunity Knocks
Dec 19 2005 // As 2005 draws to a close it marks the end of the second tumultuous year for the industry. After the multiple hurricanes of 2004, everyone was hoping 2005 would be calmer, but we ended up having an even more catastrophic...
Historic Hurricane Year Puts the Spotlight on Federal Flood Insurance
Dec 19 2005 // Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected the Gulf Coast as some of the strongest storms to hit the United States during the last 100 years, causing widespread devastation and flooding. In mid-January the country saw more than...
Independent Agents Feel Hurricane Katrina’s Full Force
Dec 19 2005 // Residents in many areas of the Gulf Coast watched their lives change forever on Aug. 29, 2005. When all was said and done, Hurricane Katrina went in the record books as the country’s worst natural disaster, leaving a...
Meeting Today’s Challenges and Preparing for Tomorrow’s
Dec 19 2005 // Several pressing public policy issues remain to be debated in the Gulf region and across the country. At the forefront is the question of how we, as a nation, will finance losses from future mega-catastrophes. Weather...
Five Major Hurricanes Expected in 2006
Dec 19 2005 // Seventeen named storms could strike the Atlantic basin next year, with nine developing into hurricanes, if predictions by William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University based in Ft. Collins come true. They...
Liberty Mutual Hires Former 9/11 Fund Head to Mediate Hurricane Claims
Dec 19 2005 // Liberty Mutual Insurance Company has hired the mediator who oversaw the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund to help settle insurance claims filed by homeowners after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Boston insurer’s...
A.M. Best Report: Terrorism – Too Risky Without TRIA
Dec 19 2005 // A.M. Best Co. believes terrorism is too risky without some sort of backstop to protect insurance companies providing coverage on a primary basis. The expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002 without...
Insurers Urged to Assess Climate Change Risks
Dec 19 2005 // State treasurers and controllers from around the country are urging major insurance companies to analyze and disclose their financial risk from climate change, warning that higher rates and loss of coverage are...
Tomorrow’s Insurance Products Are Being Developed Today
Dec 19 2005 // Hurricanes, Capital, Agents and Technology Feed the Product Process Looking for a new market? Most people in the industry are, including those who get paid to come up with new insurance products. According to these product...
