Latest Catastrophe Headlines

News Briefs

May 23 2005 // GEORGIA Licensing System Changes The Georgia Insurance Comm-ission held “Ind-ustry Day Meet-ings” across the state in May to discuss recent changes to the licensing system. In an effort to be responsive to...

Gov. Bush Pledges to Sign SB1486; Insurers Uneasy About Its Provisions

May 23 2005 // Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pledged during the May 11 opening of the annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference at the Tampa Convention Center to sign and approve Senate Bill 1486, controversial legislation that consumer...

Ga. Climatologist Cautions Residents to Prepare Now for Hurricanes

May 23 2005 // The seasonal hurricane out-look should have no impact on hurricane plans,” David Stooksbury, the Georgia state climatologist cautioned participants at the Governor’s Emergency Management Conference at the...

May 23 2005 // Charleston, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., were two of five cities the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center forecasters and NOAA Aircraft Operations Center crew visited during a May 2-6...

May 23 2005 // Nearly Half of Large, Mid-sized Businesses Purchased Terrorism Insurance in 2004 Nearly half of large and mid-sized U.S. businesses obtained insurance to cover property terrorism risks during 2004, a dramatic increase from...

Tsunami Warning: Spitzer is Coming

May 23 2005 // This is not a tsunami “watch.” This is a tsunami warning. The waves have already swept over the closest beaches, so we know they are coming. It’s too soon for casualty reports, but some mighty big places...

May 23 2005 // Nearly Half of Large, Mid-sized Businesses Purchased Terrorism Insurance in 2004 Nearly half of large and mid-sized U.S. businesses obtained insurance to cover property terrorism risks during 2004, a dramatic increase from...

Tsunami Warning: Spitzer is Coming

May 23 2005 // This is not a tsunami “watch.” This is a tsunami warning. The waves have already swept over the closest beaches, so we know they are coming. It’s too soon for casualty reports, but some mighty big places...

Number One in Q1 Catastrophes

May 23 2005 // The Insurance Council of Texas reported that a series of thunderstorms that pummeled portions of the Hill Country and central Texas in late March resulted in Texas leading the nation in insured losses during the first...

Citizens Property Considering Direct Reporting of Claims

May 18 2005 // New policies soon to be implemented by Citizens Property Insurance Corp., were presented last week to representatives from major insurance companies in Florida and Florida Association of Insurance Agents representatives...

Experts Predict 70 Percent Above Normal Hurricane Activity

May 18 2005 // As the season’s first tropical storm now brews in the Pacific and is about to cross-over into the southern Gulf of Mexico toward Cuba, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted there will be...

So. Texas TV Outlets Air Hurricane Awareness Series

May 18 2005 // Television stations in Corpus Christi and Harlingen have begun airing a series of news reports on hurricane awareness, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. The impetus to focus on what homeowners along the Texas coast...

AIA: Ariz. Legislature Passes Important Terrorism Exclusion, Med-Mal Liability

May 18 2005 // During the recently concluded Arizona legislative session, property/casualty insurers successfully lobbied for exclusion from insurance coverage of damage caused by terrorism, and also for medical malpractice liability...

Hurricane Relief Property Tax Refunds Being Mailed to Fla. Homeowners

May 18 2005 // Florida homeowners forced out of their homes for 60 days or more last year as a result of named tropical storms or hurricanes have begun to receive hurricane relief payments from the Department of Revenue. Checks averaging...

Florida Legislation: It’s More Than Hurricanes NAMIC Analysis Reveals

May 16 2005 // Although much of the attention during this year’s legislative session focused on hurricane-related issues, Florida lawmakers also succeeded in passing several other bills of interest to the insurance industry, a...

Hurricane Preparedness Week Begins

May 16 2005 // With predictions being made that this year’s hurricane season is likely to be as bad as last year’s, which ended with 15 named storms, nine hurricanes and six bad ones, Hurricane Preparedness Week is kicking...

Meteorologist Leans Toward Forecasting More Hurricanes

May 13 2005 // The warm temperature of Atlantic Ocean waters and the absence of El Nino development could increase the number of tropical storms predicted to occur during the upcoming hurricane season, well-known hurricane forecaster...

DOI Investigating: Did Citizens Pay Bogus Hurricane Claims?

May 13 2005 // Florida Office of Insurance Regulation officials are investigating 42 cases of suspected fraud in hurricane-related damage claims filed last year with Citizens Property Insurance Co., the state-run insurer of last...

PCI’s Csiszar Accuses Spitzer of ‘Corporate Terrorism’ and of Ignoring Own Conflicts

May 12 2005 // New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has bypassed due process and used McCarthy-like tactics to wage “corporate terrorism” against the insurance industry even while ignoring his own alleged conflicts of...

Fla. Gov. Urges: Be Prepared for 2005 Hurricane Season

May 12 2005 // Gov. Jeb Bush urged Florida homeowners to read and understand the provisions of their insurance policy; study their vulnerabilities; and have an evacuation plan; during the May 11 opening of the annual Governor’s...