Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hawaii Recognized as First State to be Tsunami and Storm Ready
Dec 12 2005 // The National Weather Service has declared Hawaii the first state in the nation to be both tsunami- and storm-ready. “This is an important accomplishment for the state and it shows the leadership of the local civic...
Many Missourians in Need of Earthquake Insurance, Officials Report
Dec 12 2005 // Barely four out of every 10 Missouri homeowners carry earthquake insurance, a cause of concern cited Friday as Gov. Matt Blunt heard briefings on the state’s earthquake preparations. Blunt held a closed-door Cabinet...
Insurer Downgrades Possible Without Terrorism Insurance Renewal
Dec 9 2005 // An article published by Standard Poor’s Ratings Services stated that if Congress fails to renew or extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), the commercial lines property/casualty insurance sector will be...
Hurricane Wilma Reduced Fla. Orange Growers Production
Dec 9 2005 // Hurricane Wilma darkened the outlook for Florida orange growers, reducing production estimates by 15 percent, the Agriculture Department said. Still, this year’s crop will outdo last year’s by about 8 percent...
Colorado State Experts Predict 17 Named Atlantic Tropical Storms, Nine Hurricanes in 2006
Dec 8 2005 // Predictions of 17 named storms in the Atlantic basin next year, with nine developing into hurricanes, have been predicted by William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University. The experts forecast five major...
Regulators Hear Industry Concerns on National Insurance Catastrophe Plan
Dec 8 2005 // A new draft of the proposed national insurance catastrophe Plan created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners was aired at the NAIC Winter Meeting. Some of the elements in the draft raised the ire of...
Fitch Reviews U.S. Insurance Industry in 2005; Looks Ahead to 2006
Dec 8 2005 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry encountered deja vu in this past year, reported Fitch Ratings in its annual 2005 Review and 2006 Outlook for the U.S. insurance industry. The ratings agency says 2005 mirrored...
House Floor Vote on Terrorism Insurance Expected Today
Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that would extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop through 2007 is likely to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon. TRIA, passed a year after the attacks of Sept. 11,...
House of Representatives Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill
Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that will extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for an additional two years passed on the House of Representatives floor today. The House bill (S. 467) passed by a vote of 371 to 49. The Senate already...
Aspen Updates Losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma
Dec 6 2005 // Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited has updated its assessment of estimated losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Based on the information available and evaluations to date, Aspen estimates that its...
Microsoft Co-Founder Buys Stake in International Catastrophe Insurance
Dec 6 2005 // Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital has purchased majority and controlling ownership of International Catastrophe Insurance Managers, a Boulder, Colorado company that provides insurance coverage to...
Everest Re to Raise $280 Million; S&P Affirms Ratings
Dec 5 2005 // The Everest Re Group announced from Bermuda that it has agreed to sell approximately $280 million of its common shares to Wachovia Securities, which will subsequently offer the common shares to public investors pursuant to...
Colorado State University Review Finds 2005 Hurricane Season ‘Most Active, Destructive’ on Record
Dec 5 2005 // 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...
America’s Actuaries: Permanent Government Role in Terrorism Insurance Necessary
Dec 5 2005 // The nation’s actuaries contend that the government must be involved if insurance for the damages caused by a terrorist strike is to be made widely available. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act subgroup of the American...
A Hurricane in December? Epsilon Churns the Atlantic
Dec 5 2005 // The hurricane “season” is largely expected to come to a finish by the end of November, and for the Caribbean and U.S. coastal regions hopefully it has. However, Hurricane Epsilon, the 29th named storm of this...
Preparing for Worse
Dec 5 2005 // Florida has survived eight hurricanes in 15 months, but more destruction is coming, according to experts at last month’s National Catastrophe Insurance Summit in Burlingame, Calif. It’s just a matter of time,...
Experts Predict More Advances Soon in Ability to Predict Hurricanes
Dec 5 2005 // Hurricane Wilma was briefly the most intense Atlantic storm on record as it moved through the Caribbean toward the Gulf Coast. That was the last thing Gulf residents wanted to hear. Two months earlier, Hurricane Katrina...
States Claim National Catastrophe Plan Would Save Taxpayers
Dec 5 2005 // Insurance regulators from California, Florida, Illinois and New York, on the heels of last month’s National Catastrophe Insurance Summit, are peddling a national catastrophe insurance program that they say would aid...
$100 BILLION HURRICANE:
Dec 5 2005 // A major hurricane making landfall in the New York City metropolitan area would result in approximately $50 billion of insured losses with total economic losses exceeding $100 billion, according to an expert. That scenario...
States Claim National Catastrophe Plan Would Save Taxpayers
Dec 5 2005 // Insurance regulators from California, Florida, Illinois and New York, on the heels of last month’s National Catastrophe Insurance Summit, are peddling a national catastrophe insurance program that they say would aid...
