Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2013 Had Lowest Hurricane Count since 1982: Willis Re
Dec 12 2013 // The 2013 Atlantic storm season has proved one of the quietest in decades with the lowest number of hurricanes since 1982 and none of them considered ‘major’, according to insurance broker Willis Re. An...
Bond Managers Gain as Pension Funds Flock to Catastrophe Risk
Dec 12 2013 // Funds specializing in insurance-linked risks such as catastrophe bonds are benefiting as the $30 trillion pension industry increases bets in a market that hasn’t posted an annual loss. At Leadenhall Capital Partners...
Hurricane Strength Storm Xaver Slams UK, Northern Europe: AIR Analysis
Dec 6 2013 // A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide notes that Winter Storm Xaver hit the north of Scotland last night, Thursday the 5th of December, with wind gusts of more than 140 mph (225 km/h), recorded in the...
Reinsurers to Lower Prices Following Weak Hurricane Season: Fitch
Dec 4 2013 // The quietest U.S. Atlantic hurricane season in decades will lead to a low double-digit fall in related catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the key 2014 renewals, according to experts at Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency...
Insurance Lab in South Carolina Aims to Alter ‘Cycle of Destruction’
Dec 2 2013 // The insurance industry hopes a 21,000-square-foot lab in rural South Carolina can help revolutionize the way homes are built and stem the cost of Mother Nature’s disasters. Officials at the Insurance Institute for...
Weak 2013 Hurricane Season Coming to a Close
Nov 27 2013 // The 2013 Atlantic season has delivered the fewest hurricanes since 1982, U.S. forecasters said, despite their predictions in May that it would be a busier than normal year. Forecasters had predicted 13 to 20 named Atlantic...
Colorado State Running Out of Money for Hurricane Forecasting
Nov 21 2013 // Colorado State University, which pioneered seasonal hurricane forecasting 30 years ago, may have issued its last prediction. The school’s Tropical Meteorological Project needs $150,000 or it will end in February,...
Will Hurricane Katrina Legal Issues Be Resurrected in Sandy Claims?
Nov 18 2013 // It has been more than eight years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, and only slightly more than one year since Hurricane Sandy made landfall on or about Oct. 29, 2012. Following Hurricane Katrina,...
Indiana Students Develop Plans to Fight Nature’s Fury
Nov 13 2013 // Jerzie Eagle and Liesl Elkin pointed to their topography map that showed the eight acres of flood-prone land around Carter and Murden streets in Kokomo, Ind. This is where their arboretum will go once the city tears down...
Louisiana Citizens Insurance Settles Remaining 2005 Hurricane Claims
Nov 1 2013 // A state-run insurance company of last resort in Louisiana has settled the remaining claims in a class-action lawsuit tied to how it handled claims after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The New Orleans Advocate reports...
1-Year Anniversary of Sandy Offers Lessons Learned for Coastal Residents
Oct 29 2013 // One year ago, Superstorm Sandy struck a dozen states in the Northeast and became the third costliest storm in U.S. history, after hurricanes Katrina and Andrew, according to the Insurance Information Institute...
12 Strange Weather Features of Superstorm Sandy
Oct 28 2013 // Superstorm Sandy set several records and was unusual in even more ways. Here are 12 strange weather features of Sandy: 1. Size: With tropical-storm-force winds that extended for 1,000 miles, Sandy was the largest Atlantic...
Rising Cost of Flood Insurance Will Create Challenges for NYC: RAND
Oct 28 2013 // Some New York City residents may soon face sharp increases in their flood insurance premiums as a result of major changes occurring in the National Flood Insurance Program and the redrawing of flood maps that expand the...
How a Run-of-the-Mill Hurricane Mutated Into a Superstorm Named Sandy
Oct 28 2013 // It was the moment a run-of-the-mill hurricane mutated into a monster named Sandy. Paradoxically, it was the same time Sandy lost much of its wind power, dropping from a hurricane to a tropical storm. It was a Friday night...
Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting Models Sandy Storm Surge
Oct 28 2013 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, announced that it is “helping insurers and reinsurers prepare for current and future U.S. hurricane seasons with its...
Alabama Creates Research Center to Study Home Insurance
Oct 25 2013 // Gov. Robert Bentley is creating a research center at the University of Alabama to try to improve the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance following hurricanes and tornadoes that demolished homes from the...
U.K. Braces for Hurricane-Force Winds in Worst Storm Since 1990
Oct 25 2013 // Southern England is girding for 90 mile-per-hour winds as the biggest storm since 1990 is forecast to fell trees and damage buildings. Rain and high winds are predicted to lash the area on the evening of Oct. 27 through to...
Atlantic Hurricane Season Quietest in 45 Years, Experts Say
Oct 25 2013 // The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season looks set to go down as a big washout, marking the first time in 45 years that the strongest storm to form was just a minor Category 1 hurricane. There could still be a late surprise in...
Florida Hurricane Fund Financial Condition As ‘Strong As Ever’
Oct 17 2013 // Florida is ending this year’s storm season with some good news. The state-created fund that backs up private insurers in Florida remains in the best financial shape it has been since it was created 20 years ago. New...
Hurricane-Proof Church a Safe Haven on Gulf Coast
Oct 15 2013 // God is a mighty fortress, the old hymn goes, and the same could be said for Romar Beach Baptist Church. With concrete walls more than a foot thick and pilings driven deep into bedrock, the waterfront church just yards from...
