Latest Earthquake Headlines
All the headlines from our Earthquake Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Marsh Launches Index-Based Insurance Option for Earthquake, Windstorm Risks
Jun 7 2011 // Marsh now offers an option for organizations with significant earthquake and/or windstorm exposures that are unable to purchase enough insurance to adequately protect their assets. The new program is called Country...
P/C Insurers Facing Record Losses from Weather
Jun 6 2011 // Devastating tornadoes, floods, earthquakes overseas and a busier-than-usual hurricane season have U.S. insurance companies bracing for record losses in 2011. Insurers could suffer as much as $10 billion from...
P/C Insurers Facing Record Losses from Weather
May 24 2011 // Devastating tornadoes, floods, earthquakes overseas and a busier-than-usual hurricane season have U.S. insurance companies bracing for record losses in 2011. Insurers could suffer as much as $10 billion from...
Verisk Catastrophe Index Now Covers U.S. Earthquake Risk
May 17 2011 // The Verisk Catastrophe Index has been expanded beyond the hurricane peril to also cover U.S. earthquake risk, including fire following earthquake. The index provides industry-wide insured property loss estimates by county...
Best Sees ‘Growing Pressure’ for Higher P/C Insurance Rates
May 17 2011 // There is “growing pressure” to support increased rates in property/casualty insurance and reinsurance markets, rating agency A.M. Best has concluded in its most recent market analysis. As a consequence, Best...
Cat Bond Investors Not Scared Off by Japan Quake
May 16 2011 // The catastrophe bond market seems to have survived the Japanese earthquake, its biggest test since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, with investors still likely to consider the sector despite millions of dollars of...
Risky Business: Insurance Industry Entering ‘New Era’ of Catastrophes
May 16 2011 // Given the recent flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes, it appears the number of catastrophic events that inflict mass casualties and severe economic losses has increased – so much so that Dr. Erwann Michel-Kerjan,...
How to Prevent E&O Lawsuits for Black Swan Risks
May 16 2011 // The timeless maxim- “think globally, act locally” – coined in 1915 by social activist Patrick Geddes, underscores the vital importance for insurance agents to really think through the scope of their...
EQECAT Estimates Spain Quake Insured Losses at Maximum $100 Million
May 13 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has released a “CatWatch update” on the market loss estimate for the May 11 earthquake near Lorca, Spain, which indicates that, based on the latest information available,...
Lloyd’s Estimates Losses from Q1 Disasters at $3.8 Billion
May 13 2011 // After careful calculation Lloyd’s has announced its estimated net claims before tax from the earthquakes this year in Japan and New Zealand and the January 2011 floods in Australia. The current net estimates were...
Earthquakes Hit Southern Spain; At Least 8 Dead
May 12 2011 // Two earthquakes, the first measured at magnitude 4.4, and the second a much stronger tremor measured at magnitude 5.2, struck Southern Spain near the city of Lorca late Wednesday afternoon at 6:47 PM, local time. At least...
Distant Earthquakes Can Affect San Andreas Fault
May 11 2011 // Researchers examining the San Andreas Fault in central California have found evidence that distant earthquakes can trigger episodes of accelerated — but still very slow — slip motion, deep on the fault. While a...
Risky Business: Insurance Industry Entering ‘New Era’ of Catastrophes
May 10 2011 // Given the recent flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes, it appears the number of catastrophic events that inflict mass casualties and severe economic losses has increased — so much so that Dr. Erwann Michel-Kerjan,...
AIG Reports $1.5B Net Income Loss in Q1
May 6 2011 // American International Group posted a loss from continuing operations in the first quarter as it recorded a charge of more than $3 billion related to its recapitalization and termination of its credit facility from the...
Nevada Insurance Department Publishes Earthquake Insurance Guide
May 3 2011 // The Nevada Department of Insurance has published a consumer guide to earthquake insurance to encourage residents to evaluate appropriate coverage for their homes and businesses. The state is one of the most active states...
Oregon Lawmakers Consider Governance in Disaster
May 2 2011 // Oregon’s Constitution requires that the state Legislature meet in Salem. So what would happen if disaster struck Oregon and lawmakers needed to urgently approve relief funds in a capital city they couldn’t...
Overcapacity in P/C Insurance Keeping Commercial Prices Down
May 2 2011 // Most commercial lines insurance prices continued their downward trend in the first quarter, as underwriters’ efforts to hold the line on premiums buckled under the pressure of a highly overcapitalized market. Three...
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System
May 2 2011 // Michael Korn, managing principal at Integro Insurance Brokers, is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering he is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco. “We’re...
S&P: Japan’s Rating Outlook Now Negative on Quake Costs; Affirms Debt Ratings
Apr 27 2011 // Standard and Poor’s threatened to cut Japan’s sovereign credit rating again, warning the huge cost of last month’s devastating earthquake will hurt already weak public finances unless bickering...
Overcapacity in P/C Insurance Keeping Commercial Prices Down
Apr 26 2011 // Most commercial lines insurance prices continued their downward trend in the first quarter, as underwriters’ efforts to hold the line on premiums buckled under the pressure of a highly overcapitalized market. Three...
