Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
14 South Floridians Indicted in Dade County for Filing False FEMA Claims
Mar 4 2005 // Fourteen South Floridaians were indicted this week for filing false claims to obtain Federal Emergency Management Authority grants and charged with federal wire and mail fraud. Federal legislators meeting in Washington...
Vanguard Fire & Casualty to Meet with Fla. CFO Regarding Hurricane Claims
Mar 3 2005 // On Thursday morning, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher held a news conference and expressed his desire to meet “eyeball-to-eyeball” with the heads of insurance companies to discuss open...
Study: About 11,000 Would Die in Tokyo Quake
Mar 1 2005 // About 11,000 people would die and Japan as a whole would suffer about $1.06 trillion in economic damage if a major earthquake were to strike Tokyo, a government disaster prevention panel said. The panel made its estimates...
Homeowners Insurance Costs Up by 2.5% in 2005; Smallest Increase in 6 years
Mar 1 2005 // Good news for homeowners this year came from the Insurance Information Institute, which projected that the cost of insuring homes will rise by only 2.5 percent in 2005, the smallest increase in six years. The projected...
Fla. CFO Reports Dates, Locations for Town Hall Meetings in Hurricane-Impacted Areas
Feb 28 2005 // Dates and locations for town hall meetings to assist Floridians still recovering from last year’s hurricanes have been announced by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher. The first meeting will be...
Ala. Commission Sets March 25 Deadline to Settle Hurricane Ivan Damage Claims
Feb 24 2005 // Insurance companies with unsettled claims from Hurricane Ivan have been given until March 25 to pay policyholders, or explain to Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell why the claims have not been paid. Once claims are...
2004 Hurricane Season White Paper Says Cat Models Need to be Improved
Feb 22 2005 // The ReAdvisory group of Carvill, a leading specialty reinsurance intermediary, has released a white paper, the “2004 Hurricane Season in Review,” that examines the recent weather patterns and hurricane damage...
Insurers Claim Mitigation Efforts Complement, But Do Not Replace the Need for TRIA
Feb 22 2005 // Officials in the Department of Homeland Security have introduced a proposal to mitigate losses from a future terrorist attack by establishing corporate security standards, or “best practices,” that will help...
Citizens Lost First Round; Stalling Payments Until After Another Court Decision
Feb 21 2005 // Citizens Property Insurance Co. is in the limelight again, this time because it is refusing to pay property losses, even after losing a South Florida appeals court decision. Hurricane Irene brought both wind and water when...
TRIA Renewal Remains Uncertain
Feb 21 2005 // Efforts to extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop, set to expire at the end of the year, face significant hurdles despite widespread belief among carriers that such a program is necessary to prevent massive market...
Hurricane Victims to Submit Multiple Deductible Information
Feb 21 2005 // Homeowners eligible to receive compensation for multiple hurricane deducti-bles have been called on by Florida’s CFO Tom Gallagher to file their applications for relief so they are received in Tallahassee before...
GOV. EASLEY SUGGESTS ‘RAINY DAY FUND’ FOR HURRICANE RELIEF
Feb 21 2005 // With damage estimates after last year’s hurricanes approaching $300 million, Gov. Mike Easley has asked legislators to approve the expenditure of $61 million from the North Carolina Rainy Day Fund. Easley’s...
S&P Report Says Hurricane Losses Puts Pressure on Insurers’ Equity
Feb 18 2005 // The shareholders’ equity of many insurers and reinsurers is coming under greater pressure than anticipated as P/C losses from the 2004 hurricane season continue to rise with new estimates, according to a report by...
March 1 Deadline to Apply for Multiple-Deductible Relief
Feb 18 2005 // March 1 is the deadline for Florida homeowners who paid multiple hurricane deductibles to apply for relief from the state according to Tom Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer. The program was created to avoid the terrible...
PCI Urges Market-Oriented Solutions to Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Issues
Feb 18 2005 // The Florida Joint Select Committee on Hurricane Insurance, meeting in Tallahassee this week, approved a series of recommendations for the Legislature that broadly affect the state’s property insurance market and...
Senators Reintroduce Two-Year TRIA Extension Bill
Feb 18 2005 // U.S. Senators Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) reintroduced legislation today to extend the federal terrorism backstop for two more years. The current Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is set to expire on...
Kyoto Protocol Comes into Force; Debate on Global Warming Continues
Feb 17 2005 // The “Kyoto Protocol” or Treaty, a global agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gasses, has come into force seven years after it was established. So far 141 countries, accounting for 55 percent of greenhouse...
Gallagher Plans Town Hall Meetings in Fla.’s Hurricane-Impacted Areas
Feb 17 2005 // Homeowners with unresolved hurricane damage claims will have a chance next month to discuss their concerns in town hall meetings hosted by Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CEO. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled in...
In Front of Congress, Greenspan Questions Ability of Private Market Alone to Insure Against Terrorism
Feb 17 2005 // Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday told Members of Congress he has yet to be convinced the private market alone can adequately insure against the continuing threat of terrorism. In an appearance before the...
Citizens Predicts $400 Million Deficit; Fla. Joint Selective Committee to Hear Recommendations Tomorrow
Feb 16 2005 // An estimated $400 million shortfall in Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s high-risk account was confirmed yesterday by Citizens spokesman Justin Glover in meetings in Orlando with the company’s board of...
