Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
News Briefs
Dec 18 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...
Preparing for Worst, Cat Modelers Say More Destruction Ahead
Dec 18 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,...
News Briefs
Dec 18 2005 // FLORIDA State Farm of Florida 8.6 Percent Rate Request Approved The Florida Department of Insurance approved an average statewide premium rate hike of 8.6 percent for State Farm of Florida, the largest insurer of homes in...
Munich Re Study Cites Changes in Atlantic Hurricane Risk
Dec 16 2005 // A report prepared by Dr. Eberhard Faust, who heads Munich Re’s Climate Change Research Department, points to some significant changes in the hurricane risk factors in the North Atlantic. Munich Re notes: “The...
Sen. Lott Suing State Farm for Hurricane Katrina Damages to His Pascagoula, Miss. Home
Dec 16 2005 // U.S. Sen. Trent Lott is suing his insurance company over his beachfront Pascagoula home, which was leveled by Hurricane Katrina. The law office of Lott’s brother-in-law, high-profile plaintiff’s Richard...
Unitrin Specialty Paid 92% of Hurricane Claims!
Dec 16 2005 // Unitrin Specialty to date has paid or settled over 92% of our claims from the hurricanes that hit Louisiana. How have we settled claims so quickly? Within hours of the disaster, Unitrin Specialty created a claims...
Alaska’s Augustine Volcano Showing Signs of Erupting, Scientists Say
Dec 16 2005 // A sulfurous steam plume, hundreds of miniature earthquakes and a new swath of ash on Alaska’s snowy Augustine Volcano have scientists alerted to a possible eruption in the next few months. The 4,134-foot volcano...
Bush Wants Added $1.5B to Rebuild Levees; Gov. Blanco Seeks Assistance
Dec 15 2005 // In an effort to avoid a repeat of Hurricane Katrina’s deadly damage on the levee system in New Orleans, President George W. Bush is asking for another $1.5 billion to help restructure the system. With the 2006...
La. Blue Roof Warranty Following Hurricane Lasts Only 30 Days
Dec 15 2005 // The free blue plastic sheeting installed on 78,700 hurricane-damaged roofs in Louisiana carries only a 30-day warranty, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Operation Blue Roof provides sheeting to...
Fitch Comments on New Reinsurers
Dec 15 2005 // Fitch ratings has issued a statement analyzing the prospects for the new reinsurance companies, established in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The rush to set up what Fitch calls the “Class of 2005” resembles...
Hurricane Experts Mayfield, Bailey, Key Speakers at Feb. 8 Windstorm Insurance Conference
Dec 14 2005 // Two leading hurricane experts, Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, and Bill Bailey, director of the Hurricane Insurance Information Center will summarize the conclusion of the 2005 hurricane season and...
With Only Few Days Left, Industry Presses on Terrorism Insurance
Dec 14 2005 // Congress has only a few days left to decide the future of one of the legacies of the Sept. 11 attacks, federal backup for terrorism insurance sought by the nation’s builders and investors. The 2002 Terrorism Risk...
Hurricane Katrina: The Long Road to Recovery <em>An Insurance Journal Exclusive Video Report from the Gulf States</em>
Dec 14 2005 // With Gulf Coast residents and the insurance industry trying to recover from the country’s worst natural disaster ever, two Insurance Journal reporters set out to see for themselves the effects of Hurricane...
Swiss Re Reviews 2005, Takes Look Ahead at Upcoming Industry Year
Dec 14 2005 // Andreas Beerli, CEO of Swiss Re’s Property & Casualty business in the Americas, recently hosted the company’s annual year-end economic and insurance industry review and outlook and led the discussion about...
Calif. Unprepared for Tsunami
Dec 13 2005 // Tsunami waves generated by a large offshore earthquake would threaten at least 1 million coastal residents in California and inundate the nation’s largest port complex, according to a new report. The study, released...
California Catastrophe Coalition Formed
Dec 13 2005 // James Lee Witt, former FEMA Director and co-chair of ProtectingAmerica.org, and Admiral James M. Loy, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, have announced the formation of...
Mississippi’s Insured Losses From Hurricane Katrina Pegged At $12B
Dec 13 2005 // Insurers in Mississippi are expected to pay out $12 billion in insured losses stemming from Hurricane Katrina. According to Property Claims Services, the New Jersey-based subsidiary of the Insurance Service Office, which...
Texas ‘Victims’ Plead Guilty for Making False Hurricane Katrina Claims
Dec 13 2005 // Two McLennan County, Texas women, apprehended after they claimed to be victims of Hurricane Katrina and attempted to obtain federal emergency benefits, have pleaded guilty to filing false, fictitious or fraudulent claims...
American National Reports After-Tax Katrina Loss of Nearly $80M
Dec 13 2005 // Texas-based American National Insurance Company reported that its subsidiary property and casualty companies, including American National Property and Casualty (ANPAC) and ANPAC Louisiana Insurance Company and their...
Insurers Say No to State Catastrophe Fund in New York
Dec 13 2005 // A state-mandated catastrophe fund is not needed in New York, according to the American Insurance Association (AIA). “The creation of a catastrophe fund in New York State is not warranted. The creation of such a fund...
