Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Louisiana Hurricane Recovery Board Disbanding

Jun 29 2010 // The Louisiana Recovery Authority’s board ended its multibillion dollar rebuilding work on June 24, nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. The LRA board of directors – a volunteer board largely...

Texas Prepares as Tropical Storm Alex Heads Toward Hurricane Status

Jun 29 2010 // As of 10 a.m. CDT on June 29, Tropical Storm Alex was nearing hurricane strength in the western Gulf of Mexico and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects it to reach hurricane status later in the day. The storm is...

Homeowners Offered Few Insurance Choices in Hurricane States

Jun 28 2010 // In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices of insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

Aon Benfield, Cologne University to Study European Windstorms

Jun 25 2010 // Aon Benfield announced that it has signed an exclusive partnership with the University of Cologne – “a leading research centre with a long record of wind storms diagnostics, extreme weather modeling and impact...

Arizona Wildfire Claims Up to $5 Million

Jun 25 2010 // The Schultz fire burning in Arizona near Flagstaff has incurred up to $5 million in claims to date, according to the latest National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report. To date, 14,800...

More U.S. Firms Buying Terrorism Insurance; Prices Decline: Marsh

Jun 24 2010 // U.S. terrorism insurance purchase rates continued to climb in 2009 as companies of all sizes and across all industries continued to buy terrorism coverage, according to a report by global broker Marsh. Sixty-one percent of...

Earthquake, Tornado, Storms Hit Canada’s International Summit Site

Jun 24 2010 // International leaders might be forgiven if they nervously eye the skies above and the ground below as they gather for summits of the Group of Eight and the Group of 20 in Canada’s province of Ontario this weekend. In...

Arizona Wildfire Incurs $1.8 Million in Claims

Jun 23 2010 // An Arizona wildfirethat has burned 14,000 acres and incurred $1.8 million in claims to date might be the first example of the fire risks the Western United States are facing in 2010. But, the National Interagency...

Double Trouble: Oil and Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast

Jun 21 2010 // AIR Worldwide Reviews Implications of the Gulf Oil Spill for Hurricane Season The current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico followed soon after a large explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform, 50 miles off...

Double Trouble: Oil and Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast

Jun 21 2010 // AIR Worldwide Reviews Implications of the Gulf Oil Spill for Hurricane Season The current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico followed soon after a large explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform, 50 miles off...

Lloyd’s Team to Assess Chile Earthquake

Jun 18 2010 // Lloyd’s has confirmed that a team has been sent to Chile to “help the market better understand the impact of February’s earthquake and assist in ensuring the speedy payment of valid claims.” The...

Aon Benfield Report Identifies ‘Mega-Earthquake’ ‘Hotspots

Jun 15 2010 // Aon Benfield has published a new report – “When The Earth Moves: Mega-Earthquakes To Come?” – in conjunction with the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre. The report was prompted by the recent...

Florida Certifies Updated AIR Hurricane Model

Jun 14 2010 // AIR Worldwide (AIR) is reporting the certification of its 2010 U.S. Hurricane Model by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology. The commission certifies models for use by insurers for developing...

OECD Launches Platform to Coordinate International Terrorism Insurance

Jun 14 2010 // The heads of all the national terrorism insurance programs of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) member countries met earlier this month at the OECD headquarters in Paris in an attempt to...

Southwest Wildfire Season Poised to Ignite

Jun 10 2010 // Southwestern states could face a particularly troubling fire season this year, particularly in the next few days, according to AccuWeather.com reports. The company said moisture from winter storms has spurred spring growth...

Florida Hurricane Fund In Better Shape

Jun 7 2010 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is as healthy as ever heading into the 2010 storm season. An advisory council to the fund reported that it has enough cash and bonding ability to pay off more than $25 billion in...

Florida Insurers Head Into Hurricane Season with Fingers Crossed

Jun 7 2010 // Florida’s property insurance companies haven’t suffered hurricane losses for nearly five years, but many claim to be losing money even while collecting hefty premiums. It’s a complex paradigm for almost...

Guy Carpenter Terrorism Report: Insurance Supply Outpaces Demand

Jun 3 2010 // Guy Carpenter, Marsh’s reinsurance brokerage and risk assessment division, has published “Terrorism: Reinsurers Standing By.” It concludes that “insurers and reinsurers have become increasingly...

Aon Sees Progress Against Terrorism, But Threats are Evolving

Jun 3 2010 // In conjunction with the release of the latest version of its “Terrorism Threat Map,” Aon’s Crisis Management division analyzes the current state of the ongoing efforts to combat terrorist activities. The...

2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season: 76% Chance Major Storm to Hit U.S.

Jun 3 2010 // The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will be even more active than feared, leading U.S. forecasters said Wednesday as they predicted 10 hurricanes, five of them major, with a 76 percent likelihood that a major hurricane...