Latest Flood Headlines
All the headlines from our Flood Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Remapping, Subsidy Loss Raising North Dakota Flood Insurance Costs
Jan 17 2014 // Had Greg Larson, a realtor and riverside homeowner in Bismarck, N.D., and his family changed their flood insurance policy, their cost would have gone from $705 a year to $4,200. Increases in flood insurance rates are...
Philippine Floods Kill 34 People
Jan 17 2014 // At least 34 people were killed in flooding and landslides in the southern Philippines in the past week, as the national weather service issued the lowest storm alert for several provinces on the southern island of...
Senate Joins House in Approving Spending Bill with Narrow Flood Insurance Fix
Jan 17 2014 // The Senate (72-26) yesterday joined the House of Representatives (359-67) in passing a $1.1 trillion compromise omnibus spending bill that contains a delay for an estimated one quarter of those facing flood insurance...
A.M. Best Reviewing Wright National Flood Insurance Co.
Jan 16 2014 // Ratings agency, A.M. Best, has placed under review with developing implications the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Wright National Flood Insurance Co. (WNFIC) of...
Federal Flood Aid to Colorado Reaches $246M
Jan 16 2014 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency says nearly $246 million in federal aid has flowed into Colorado since the deadly September floods. FEMA said the aid includes $96 million in loans, $59.3 million in flood insurance...
P/C Insurance Executives Expect Flood Insurance Delay, TRIA Renewal, Industry Consolidation
Jan 16 2014 // A survey conducted at the Insurance Information Institute’s Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum in New York Tuesday asked industry leaders for their outlook on 12 topics — ranging from the...
Senate Re-Election Politics Boosts Flood Insurance Delay Proposals
Jan 16 2014 // Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do just about anything to help Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu. He arranged the chamber’s floor agenda this week so Landrieu could lead debate on a flood insurance rate reprieve...
Brown & Brown to Acquire Flood, Specialty Insurer The Wright Group
Jan 15 2014 // Florida-based national insurance broker Brown & Brown, Inc. has agreed to acquire The Wright Insurance Group, LLC for $602.5 million from Aquiline Capital Partners, Wright’s lead equity partner. The Wright...
Kmart’s Flood Damage Claims Against Kroger Going to Trial in Mississippi
Jan 15 2014 // A federal judge has denied a request from Kmart Corp. to file a corrected report on testimony of its engineering expert in a lawsuit over flood damage to one of its stores in Corinth. U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson...
Congressional Spending Plan Would Curb Some Flood Insurance Hikes
Jan 15 2014 // The $1.1 trillion government funding agreement unveiled by Congressional negotiators on Monday includes language to postpone for about eight months some of the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by reforms passed in...
Improvements Planned for Flood Walls in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jan 14 2014 // Grand Rapids, Mich., plans to spend $4.2 million to repair and improve its floodwall system, after engineers identified weaknesses exposed by a storm last spring that flooded the Grand River threatened to swamp the...
70 Homes in Buffalo Suburb Damaged by Flooding
Jan 14 2014 // Residents in a suburban Buffalo neighborhood are dealing with the aftermath of weekend flooding that has left dozens of homes damaged. Local media outlets report that about 70 homes in West Seneca’s Lexington Green...
Vermont Officials Warn of Flooding Potential From Ice Jam
Jan 13 2014 // Vermont officials are warning of flooding potential in Montpelier due to an ice jam on the Winooski River. The Montpelier Emergency Management Team is monitoring a significant rise in water levels of the river’s...
Florida Panel Takes First Step To Creating Private Flood Market
Jan 13 2014 // With thousands of Florida residents facing dramatic increases in their flood insurance premiums, state lawmakers are preparing the groundwork for a private market option to premiums charged by the federal flood insurance...
Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $45B in 2013: Impact Forecasting
Jan 13 2014 // In 2013, there were 296 separate natural disaster events that produced total economic losses of $192 billion – four percent below the 10-year average of $200 billion, but above the average 259 events, according to a...
Flood Maps Still Wrong, Oregon Homeowners Still Paying
Jan 13 2014 // Months after Carol Justice was wrongly told her home needs flood insurance, the Cornelius resident is still paying up – even though a surveyor has since determined her house is not in the flood zone. Justice is one of...
Declarations
Jan 13 2014 // Free Speech Ripoff “This case is really important because businesses should not be able to silence their customers.” —Scott Michelman of nonprofit Public Citizen Litigation Group says the case of a Utah...
Groups Urge Congress to Target Flood Insurance Fix to Help Needy, Not Wealthy
Jan 9 2014 // Opponents of delaying Biggert-Waters flood insurance reforms and stopping the resulting premium hikes say the negative effects are being exaggerated and instead of gutting all of the reforms, Congress should target its...
Biden, Cuomo Team Up to Promote Smarter Rebuilding
Jan 8 2014 // Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that New York and the nation’s other coastal states have to rebuild against severe storms and flooding that are likely in the...
Key Senate Vote on Flood Insurance Rate Delay Pushed to Next Week
Jan 7 2014 // The U.S. Senate is expected to take a key vote soon on a bill that would delay some of the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The procedural vote will determine...
