Latest Earthquake Headlines
All the headlines from our Earthquake Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EQECAT Updates Japan Quake/Tsunami Analysis; Insured Losses $12-$25 Billion
Mar 17 2011 // Insured losses from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last Friday are between $12 billion and $25 billion, according to catastrophe modeler EQECAT. In its latest update, the firm describes the...
RenRe Estimates Australia Flood Losses $30 Mn; NZ Quake $190 Mn
Mar 17 2011 // Bermuda-based RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. announced its initial loss estimates for the 2011 Australian flooding as well as the February 2011 New Zealand earthquake. The Company said it currently expects the Australian...
Arkansas Earthquakes Decline After Injection Well Closures
Mar 16 2011 // The number and strength of earthquakes in central Arkansas have noticeably dropped since the shutdown of two injection wells in the area, although a state researcher says it’s too early to draw any...
Best Comments on Rating Impact of Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami
Mar 16 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has issued a bulletin indicating that it does not “expect an immediate rating impact on Japanese non-life insurers and reinsurers due to the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan. However, the...
Debate Begins: Will Japan Disaster Raise Insurance Rates?
Mar 16 2011 // Losses from the Japanese earthquake will reduce insurers’ capital reserves, insurance brokers said Tuesday, as sector shares continued their sharp declines on fears the disaster’s size could grow. Ace, a...
Japan Scrambles to Pull Nuclear Plant Back from Brink of Disaster
Mar 16 2011 // Japan’s nuclear crisis appeared to be spinning out of control on Wednesday after workers withdrew briefly from a stricken power plant because of surging radiation levels, but desperate efforts to avert a catastrophic...
Fitch Ratings: Japan Quake/Tsunami Losses ‘Appear Manageable’
Mar 15 2011 // Fitch Ratings has issued a bulletin, indicating that it “believes that while the 11 March earthquake in Japan will be among the largest insured losses in history, such losses can be absorbed by the insurance and...
Swiss Re Reaffirms Commitment to Japanese Market
Mar 15 2011 // Swiss Re issued a statement which stressed that it is “committed to the Japanese insurance market and to supporting the country’s recovery from the devastating earthquake and tsunami which claimed many lives...
Japan Recovery and Reconstruction Cost ‘at Least $180 Billion’
Mar 15 2011 // Quake-hit Japan faces a recovery and reconstruction bill of at least $180 billion, or 3 percent of its annual economic output and more than 50 percent higher than the total cost of 1995’s earthquake in Kobe. Even...
Japan Quake/Tsunami Loss Estimates Continue to Hit Insurers’ Shares
Mar 15 2011 // Investors sold insurance shares Monday in fear of how high the total losses from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami will go, though it will take weeks to determine how much was actually lost. At least one set of experts...
EQECAT Analyzes Specific Exposures from Japan Quake/Tsunami
Mar 15 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has issued a bulletin describing the potential insured market losses and summarizing the various impacts of Japan’s insurance market with its specific inclusions and...
Lloyd’s Statement on Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami
Mar 15 2011 // Lloyd’s of London has issued the following statement on the Japanese earthquake: “Our thoughts are still with those affected by the major earthquake and tsunami events in Japan. “Lloyd’s is...
Commentary: The World Responds to Japan’s Agony
Mar 14 2011 // The magnitude 8.9 earthquake, 6 miles down in the Japan Trench and 130 kms (81 miles) off Japan’s northeast coast, triggered a tsunami that devastated cities and towns over a wide area. Pictures of the onrushing...
Analysts Describe Quake/Tsunami Impact on Japan’s P/C Insurers as ‘Limited’
Mar 14 2011 // A decline in shares of Japanese non-life insurers including MS&AD Insurance Group [Mitsui Sumitomo] is expected to be temporary as the impact on their earnings of the earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan should be...
“Unexpected Nature” of Japan Quake Complicates Insured Loss Estimates
Mar 14 2011 // The unexpected nature of this week’s earthquake in Japan, plus the damage from the subsequent tsunami and fires, makes estimating insured losses from the disaster especially difficult, senior executives at two top...
$35 Billion Japan Quake Cost Estimate Weighs on Insurers
Mar 14 2011 // Shares in European insurers fell steeply on Monday after analysts estimated over the weekend that the Japanese earthquake could cost the industry nearly $35 billion, making it one of the most expensive disasters ever. The...
AIR’s Japan Quake/Tsunami Insured Loss Estimates: $15 Billion to $35 Billion
Mar 14 2011 // Boston-based catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s most recent statement, based on “currently available information, estimates that insured property losses from the Mw9.1 earthquake that struck Japan on...
CEA: Japan Earthquake A Lesson for Californians
Mar 11 2011 // The tragic tsunamis and Magnitude 8.9 earthquake that have struck Japan – the fifth largest quake in the world since 1900 – are a stark reminder that earthquakes can happen any time and it’s essential to prepare,...
Insurers’ Share Prices Fall on Japan Earthquake News
Mar 11 2011 // Shares in European insurers and reinsurers fell sharply in early trading on Friday after Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, one of the biggest ever recorded. The quake, which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, hit off...
UPDATE-2 Huge Quake Triggered Tsunami Kills 100’s in Japan; Pacific on Alert
Mar 11 2011 // The biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan rocked its northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-meter |33 foot] tsunami that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its path. Thousands of residents near...
