Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part I
Apr 5 2011 // Michael Korn is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering what he does for a living and where he lives. Korn is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco. “We’re...
Hurricane Protection
Apr 4 2011 // The Army Corps of Engineers said it will meet its deadline to greatly improve the New Orleans area’s hurricane-protection system by the start of the 2011 storm season. The deadline to have New Orleans ready for a...
Hurricane Names Retired
Apr 4 2011 // Hurricanes Igor and Tomas are no longer a threat. The World Meteorological Organization has retired the two names from those used in 2010 because of the damage they caused. Names are retired from time to time to avoid...
Florida Lawmakers Advance Plan to Shrink State Insurer Citizens
Apr 1 2011 // Florida lawmakers have approved a plan designed to move more property owners into the private insurance market by restricting what properties the state-backed insurer can cover and allowing it to raise its rates. By a vote...
North Carolina Researchers Track Risk from Rising Sea Level
Mar 30 2011 // Laid back beach communities, fragile wetlands perfect for canoeing or kayaking, and iconic lighthouses come to mind when picturing North Carolina’s coast. In reality change is the norm along the coast, and although...
Hawaii May Drain Hurricane Funds
Mar 29 2011 // Hawaii is running out of time to find an estimated $232 million needed to balance the budget over the next three months, leading Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s administration to consider emptying the state’s hurricane...
Igor, Tomas Retired as Hurricane Names
Mar 23 2011 // Hurricanes Igor and Tomas are no longer a threat. The World Meteorological Organization has retired the two names from those used in 2010 because of the damage they caused. Names are retired from time to time to avoid...
High-Risk Properties Require Higher Level of Care
Mar 21 2011 // High-risk property is a location that is inherently dangerous due to the nature of its operations or that is exposed to powerful forces of nature such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. Insuring against these...
Regulators Take Over TWIA; Reform Bill Filed
Mar 21 2011 // Management of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association was taken over by the Texas Department of Insurance in late February as lawmakers and regulators criticized the association’s adminstrative functionality and...
GeoVera Insurance Launches Hurricane Product in Hawaii
Mar 15 2011 // GeoVera Insurance Co. has launched a residential windstorm-hurricane insurance product in Hawaii. The policy will insure residential properties against the single peril of windstorm during a hurricane. GeoVera is...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Litigation Costs Too High, Lawmaker Says
Mar 7 2011 // The amount the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has paid out in litigation costs as a result of lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Ike claims is far too high, said one Texas lawmaker who’s working on...
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner: Rebates, Incentives Available to Homeowners
Mar 1 2011 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon wants property insurance policyholders in his state to claim a possible rebate for the assessment from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., and homeowners to take...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Litigation Costs Too High, Lawmaker Says
Feb 22 2011 // The amount the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has paid out in litigation costs as a result of lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Ike claims is far too high, says one Texas lawmaker who’s working on...
Insurance Industry Challenged by Unexpected Weather
Feb 21 2011 // It’s a tough time to be in the $500 billion U.S. property insurance business. Storms are happening in places they never happened before, at intensities they have never reached before and at times of year when they...
SPECIAL REPORT: Extreme Weather Batters Insurance Industry
Feb 9 2011 // In Chester County, South Carolina, off a dirt road in the middle of a field, insurance companies are literally unleashing a storm. To simulate hurricane-like conditions, an industry group has built a wind tunnel big enough...
Businesses, Charities Call for End to Florida’s ‘Hurricane Tax’
Feb 7 2011 // A coalition of Florida charitable and business groups is pressing the state to eliminate assessments charged all policyholders to subsidize the state-backed insurance provider and hurricane claims fund. In a letter to Gov....
Geographer Recreates ‘The Great Louisiana Hurricane of 1812’
Feb 3 2011 // Nearly 200 years before Hurricane Katrina, a major storm hit the coast of Louisiana just west of New Orleans. Because the War of 1812 was simultaneously raging, the hurricane’s strength, direction and other...
Texas Insurance Commissioner Geeslin to Step Down
Jan 24 2011 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin announced in early January that he will not seek another term as head of the Texas Department of Insurance. His term ends Feb. 1, 2011. Commissioner Geeslin has been with TDI for...
Florida Charities, Businesses Call for End to Hurricane Premium Taxes
Jan 20 2011 // A coalition of Florida charitable and business groups is pressing the state to eliminate assessments charged all policyholders to subsidize the state-backed insurance provider and hurricane claims fund. In a letter to Gov....
Study Says Climate Change Link in Hurricane Losses Decades Away
Jan 13 2011 // Tropical cyclones are expected to cause more damage in the United States and Asia but it could be more than a century before insurers can point to climate change as a factor in losses from storms, scientists say. In a...
