Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Insurers Have Capacity to Provide 2012 Hurricane Coverage: Fitch
May 25 2012 // Sufficient capacity remains available in the insurance and reinsurance markets to meet the demand for coverage prior to the approaching U.S. hurricane season, according to Fitch Ratings. Early forecasts for the 2012 U.S....
NOAA Forecasts ‘Near Normal’ 4 to 8 Atlantic Hurricanes in 2012
May 25 2012 // The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season will be “near normal” with nine to 15 tropical storms and four to eight of those will strengthen into hurricanes, the U.S. government weather agency predicted on Thursday. One...
R.I. Enacts New Law to Assist Homeowners With Hurricane-Related Claims
May 24 2012 // Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday signed into law legislation designed to provide additional protection to homeowners when they suffer damages from hurricanes. The legislation (House bill 2012-H7484A and Senate...
Florida Readies Storm Plan for Republican Convention
May 24 2012 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott will have the final say whether to cancel the Republican National Convention in the event of a hurricane. The convention where Mitt Romney is expected to be formally nominated as the Republican...
Season’s First Tropical Storm Forms Off Carolina Coast
May 21 2012 // Tropical Storm Alberto emerged off South Carolina’s coastline Sunday, the first storm of its kind to form in a hurricane season that doesn’t officially begin until June 1. The storm was not expected to approach...
Weather Channel’s Knabb Named Chief of National Hurricane Center
May 21 2012 // Richard Knabb, the tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, will be the next chief of the U.S. government’s hurricane forecasting hub in Florida, federal officials said Friday. The promotion to director of the...
Massachusetts Regulators Reject FAIR Plan’s Rate Hike Request
May 21 2012 // Massachusetts insurance regulators on May 11 rejected FAIR Plan’s request to raise rates by an average of more than 7 percent. FAIR Plan, whose official name is Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriters...
Louisiana Property Market Rebounds
May 21 2012 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told an Alexandria civic club that the state’s property insurance market is “more competitive than ever.” Speaking to the Alexandria Rotary Club about the...
Forecasters Examine Hurricane Andrew’s Legacy
May 18 2012 // The ability to predict how bad a storm will be has eluded forecasters since Hurricane Andrew made a catastrophic landfall in South Florida two decades ago and it will remain a challenge for the next chief at the National...
Hurricane Andrew Remembered at Storm Conference
May 17 2012 // Florida’s emergency managers are preparing for the upcoming tropical storm season by reexamining the lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew. This August will mark the 20th anniversary of Andrew’s catastrophic...
Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits: Panel
May 14 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel last Thursday concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover...
Virginia Hurricane-Prep Sales Tax Break Starts May 25
May 10 2012 // Virginians who want to stock up on batteries, bottled water and other supplies for the hurricane season will get a tax break this month. Starting May 25 and continuing for seven days, a sales tax holiday will spare them...
Louisiana Commissioner: Property Insurance Market Has Recovered
May 10 2012 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon told an Alexandria civil club that the state’s property insurance market is “more competitive than ever.” The Town Talk reports Donelon spoke on May 8 to the...
Florida Approves Hurricane Shelter Plan
May 10 2012 // The construction of new public schools across Florida has contributed to a significant increase in the number of hurricane shelter spaces, according to a plan approved this week by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida...
Massachusetts to Host Hurricane Preparedness Conference
May 7 2012 // Hundreds of emergency management and public safety officials from across Massachusetts are meeting this week for a hurricane preparedness conference. The all-day conference hosted by the state Emergency Management Agency...
Swiss Re in New $400 Million Nat Cat Bond for Europe, U.S. Wind Risks
May 7 2012 // Swiss Re Ltd. Announced that it has secured $400 million in natural catastrophe coverage through a newly-formed issuer Mythen Ltd., which it described as a “flexible program that allows Swiss Re to cede wind risks in...
AAMGA President Chaffin Stresses Need for Perpetuation; Cites Effect of Revised Catastrophe Model on E&S Business
May 7 2012 // Relationships are important to the success of any insurance business, but it’s perpetuation that matters most when it comes to survival. R.C. Chaffin, president and CEO of Coral Gables, Fla.-based SeaCoast...
Rate Hike Proposal Goes to TWIA Board
May 7 2012 // In advance of the June 1 start of hurricane season, the actuarial underwriting committee of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for coastal counties is recommending a rate increase. The committee on April 20...
Fewer Storms for 2012 Hurricane Season?
May 7 2012 // The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is projected to be less active than in recent years with 11 tropical storms, six of which will intensify into hurricanes, according to Andover, Md.-based private forecaster Weather...
Rate Hike Proposal Sent to Board of Texas Windstorm Insurer
Apr 27 2012 // In advance of the start of hurricane season, the actuarial underwriting committee of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for coastal counties is recommending a rate increase. The committee on April 20 voted for a...
