Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hawaii Hurricane Insurer Raises Rates 20 Percent
Dec 31 2004 // The state’s largest provider of hurricane insurance to local homeowners has raised its rate by an average of about 20 percent, the first rate increase in the company’s four years in Hawaii. Zephyr Insurance Co....
FEMA Extends Aid Deadline to Feb. 28
Dec 30 2004 // The deadline for anyone who suffered losses from hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan or Jeanne to apply for assistance has been extended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Feb. 28. A U.S. Small Business...
Best Downgrades Rating for Cayman General Insurance
Dec 30 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to B- (Fair) from A- (Excellent) of Cayman General Insurance Company Limited (Cayman General) (Cayman Islands). The rating remains under review with negative...
Georgia Still Cleaning Up After Hurricane Ivan, Storms
Dec 28 2004 // More than $114 million in hurricane claim losses have been reported in Georgia by John Oxendine, Insurance Commissioner, while Hurricane Ivan accounted for $75 million in damages. A number of families in metro Atlanta are...
Best Reports P/C Industry Maintains Underwriting Profit, Despite “Unprecedented Cat Events”
Dec 28 2004 // A.M. Best Co. has released a year-end report on the U.S. P/C industry, which indicates that, “despite the colossal hurricane losses posted during the third quarter of 2004,” it “reported very strong...
NOAA: U.S. Reported Tornadoes Reaches Record High
Dec 27 2004 // The total number of tornadoes reported in the United States reached a record high during the year 2004, surpassing the previous record by almost 300, according to officials at NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in...
SBA Filing Deadline Extended to Jan. 3 in Fla., Ala.
Dec 23 2004 // The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has extended application deadlines to Jan. 3 for residents and business owners in Florida and Alabama. A spokesman said it has approved more than $1 billion in loans in Florida...
Swiss Re <em>sigma</em> 2004 Catastrophe Estimates: 21,000 Dead; $105 Billion Economic Loss; $42 Billion Insured
Dec 21 2004 // According to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re’s forthcoming sigma report, more than 21,000 people around the world lost their lives as a result of natural and man-made catastrophes in 2004. Economic losses were...
Industry Resolutions for 2005
Dec 20 2004 // This is Insurance Journal‘s year-in-review issue and what a year it was! Between four hurricanes that churned through southeast coastal states; the aftermath of the hurricanes, resulting in floods as far north as...
Industry Sees First 9-Month Net Gain on Underwriting in Nearly Two Decades
Dec 20 2004 // Benefiting from profits on underwriting, the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes rose 28.3 percent to $26.7 billion in the first nine months of 2004 from $20.8 billion in the first nine...
‘Girly Men’ and the Real World: The Public Role in Extreme Risk-Sharing
Dec 20 2004 // The Wharton School professor argued that insurance companies are not “girly men” when it comes to providing coverage for extreme risks such as hurricanes and terror attacks. It’s the federal...
INSURERS WELL-POSITIONED TO SHOULDER HURRICANE LOSSES:
Dec 20 2004 // Even with the nearly $21 billion of hurricane-related losses expected to be reflected in the third- and fourth-quarter results, the nation’s property/casualty insurers are well-capitalized and safely positioned to...
P/C INSURERS POSITIONED TO WEATHER HURRICANE LOSSES:
Dec 20 2004 // Even with the nearly $21 billion of hurricane-related losses expected to be reflected in the third and fourth quarter results, the nation’s property/casualty insurers are well-capitalized and safely positioned to...
‘Girly Men’ and the Real World: The Public Role in Extreme Risk-Sharing
Dec 17 2004 // The Wharton School professor argued that insurance companies are not “girly men” when it comes to providing coverage for extreme risks such as hurricanes and terror attacks. It’s the federal...
Fla. Legislature Slates January Meetings to Discuss Five Insurance Changes
Dec 17 2004 // Five major changes in insurance provisions will be examined in January by the Florida Legislature during special joint committee meetings to bolster the homeowner insurance market. Legislative leaders announced they will...
Fla. Legislators Unanimously Approve Hurricane Victim Assistance Package
Dec 16 2004 // A half-billion-dollar aid package, including property and sales tax rebates to reimburse residents who had to pay more than one hurricane deductible, was approved by the Florida Legislature before it adjourned today. The...
Florida Legislature’s Approval of $150M Relief Looks Like ‘A Done Deal’
Dec 15 2004 // The Florida Legislature is expected to decide today or tomorrow to provide $150 million to help hurricane victims strapped with large insurance deductible payments. The House and Senate both support the plan, so according...
Hurricane Scheme Ends with 10-year Prison Sentence
Dec 15 2004 // An attorney who cheated Hawaii out of more than $12 million was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison. Jerrold Chun, 56, had pleaded no contest to charges filed in connection with a scheme involving insurance claims...
Insurance Proposals Stalled in Fla. Legislature
Dec 14 2004 // Two plans, one to reimburse homeowners hit by multiple hurricanes, and the second to charge only one deductible per hurricane season, stalled in debate yesterday during special sessions of the Florida Legislature as...
Multiple Deductibles Among Key Issues Being Discussed By Florida Legislators
Dec 13 2004 // Major insurance issues are on this week’s Florida Legislature agenda in Tallahassee. In long-awaited special sessions, which begin today, even if legislators stick to key issues, it remains to be seen how much they...