Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Led Nation in Catastrophic Losses in 2008
Jan 21 2009 // A combination of hurricanes and severe thunderstorms pushed claims to exceed $10 billion for Texas property and casualty insurers in 2008. The losses in Texas exceeded all of the industry’s catastrophic losses for...
Mississippi Grants $1 Million for Wind Mitigation Study
Jan 16 2009 // The Mississippi Insurance Department’s wind mitigation program has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority and Governor Haley Barbour’s office. Insurance Commissioner Mike...
S&P: Florida Hurricane Fund, Citizens, Guaranty Fund Ratings to Negative
Jan 15 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised the outlook to negative from stable on Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (AA-), Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (A+), and Florida Insurance Guaranty Association...
Work on Hurricane Protection System in Louisiana Begins
Jan 15 2009 // Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that the state and parish are breaking ground on a three-mile, $6.9 million stretch of the Morganza to-the-Gulf Hurricane Protection System in Chauvin. This project is designed to...
Windstorm Fund a Leading Issue With Lawmakers at Texas Capitol
Jan 12 2009 // Hurricane Ike was the big storm Texas officials feared would hit the coast – and the state’s way of paying for it afterward. When lawmakers convene Jan. 13, they’ll face the financial devastation left by...
Group Targets Hurricane Products That Don’t Meet Florida Code
Jan 11 2009 // A new consumer group in Florida is promising to track down products that are touted as hurricane protection but fail to meet state safety standards. Bill Feeley, president of the International Hurricane Protection...
Insurance Price-Fixing Lawsuit Dismissed in Louisiana
Jan 11 2009 // A federal judge in New Orleans in late December 2008 dismissed an antitrust lawsuit Louisiana’s former attorney general filed against some of the nation’s largest insurance companies after hurricanes Katrina...
Reinsurance Renewals Are Firming, Concludes Aon Benfield Report
Jan 9 2009 // Global reinsurance prices firmed for Jan. 1, 2009 renewals and are expected to remain firm for the April through July 2009 renewals, according to the January 2009 “Reinsurance Market Outlook” issued by...
Galveston Officials Paint Bleak Picture of Ike Recovery for Lawmakers
Jan 9 2009 // Galveston officials pleaded with state lawmakers Jan. 7 for help in rescuing their island city from the dire financial straits it finds itself in nearly four months after the devastation of Hurricane...
Study: California Earthquake Would Accelerate US Mortgage Meltdown
Jan 6 2009 // In light of current economic conditions, a major catastrophe such as an earthquake in California would bring new misery to both U.S. and international financiers, according to an analysis released by Impact Forecasting...
2008: Top Stories of the Year
Jan 5 2009 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year we saw the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft market continued to...
Climate Change Raises 2008 Cat Losses to $200 Billion Says Munich Re
Dec 31 2008 // Munich Re has released its annual report on the natural catastrophes that occurred in 2008, which it describes as “one of the most devastating years on record.” 2008’s major catastrophes included a number...
Catastrophe Losses Up 7% in 2008, Making It One of Costliest Years for Insurers
Dec 30 2008 // The high frequency and severity of Atlantic hurricanes in 2008, coupled with other weather-related and man-made losses, placed the year among the costliest on record for insured catastrophe losses. That’s according...
Munich Re 2008 Catastrophe Report Cites Role of Climate Change
Dec 30 2008 // Munich Re has released its analytical report on the natural catastrophes that occurred in 2008, which the reinsurer describes as, “one of the most devastating years on record.” 2008’s major catastrophes...
Group Tackles Hurricane Products That Don’t Meet Florida Code
Dec 23 2008 // Bill Feeley, president of the International Hurricane Protection Association (IHPA), announced the formation of the Consumer Safety Task Force for Hurricane Protection Products, intended to act in unison with the Florida...
2008: A Year of Financial Storms
Dec 21 2008 // 2008 can be described as a year like no other in the property/casualty insurance world. This year, the industry witnessed the near death of the world’s largest and most successful insurance company, AIG. The soft...
Top Regional Stories of 2008
Dec 21 2008 // West California Passed Agent-Broker Law The most notable bill affecting California agents was AB 2956, which clarifies the duties of an insurance agent versus a broker. Prior to the new law, confusion existed within the...
A.M. Best Restores Ratings of Insurers Tied to Florida Hurricane Fund
Dec 19 2008 // Following the completion of the 2008 hurricane season, A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review and affirmed several insurers’ ratings it had issued in October when there was concern over the insurers’...
New Orleans Judge Dismisses Insurance Price-Fixing Lawsuit
Dec 19 2008 // A federal judge in New Orleans has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit Louisiana’s former attorney general filed against some of the nation’s largest insurance companies after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The suit,...
Swiss Re Study: 238,000 Dead, Losses $225 Billion from 2008 Catastrophes
Dec 18 2008 // According to initial estimates from the forthcoming Swiss Re sigma study on catastrophes, more than 238,000 people lost their lives to natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2008 – the fourth largest number...
