Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Web Site Estimates Hurricane Damages If Old Storms Returned Today
Jul 10 2009 // Today marks the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the panhandle of Florida with sustained winds of 120 m.p.h. While Dennis inflicted more than $2.2 billion in damage in 2005...
Developing El Nino Could Suppress Atlantic Hurricanes
Jul 9 2009 // El Nino weather anomaly has developed and it may not be as strong as the killer which struck more than a decade ago, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. The CPC, an office under the National Oceanic...
Few Complaints from Texas 2008 Hurricane Claims
Jul 8 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) reported it has received a total of 1,201 justified complaints from the nearly 900,000 claims that originated from Hurricanes Ike and Dolly in 2008. The complaints represent less...
Texas Restructures Windstorm Insurance Fund
Jun 22 2009 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday signed into law bills to restructure the state’s windstorm insurance fund, the only property insurer for homeowners and business in 14 coastal counties, and provide financial help to...
Earthquake Monitors Headed to Midwest
Jun 18 2009 // More than 40 earthquake recording stations will be placed around the state and in Iowa as part of a federal initiative overseen by Missouri University of Science and Technology. The seismic monitors join another 400...
Momentous Insurance, Fireman’s Fund Urge California Wildfire Preparedness
Jun 17 2009 // Momentous Insurance Brokerage of Van Nuys, Calif., has partnered with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. and the Burbank Fire Department to help protect Southern Californians from wildfires. In 2006, Momentous secured a...
New Homeowners Earthquake Rating Plan Available
Jun 16 2009 // Wheaton, Ill.-based American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) has developed a new rating plan for adding earthquake coverage to policies based on standardized forms, manual rules, and rating information provided...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Bill Passes
Jun 15 2009 // Texas lawmakers on the first day of the 2009 hurricane season and the last day of the Texas legislative session passed a bill – HB 4409 – aimed at recapitalizing the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association...
2004/2005 Hurricane Seasons Provided Unprecedented Claims Data
Jun 15 2009 // Cat Modelers and Insurers Applying Lessons Learned Since Hurricane Katrina wreaked its damage in 2005, catastrophe modeling firms and the property and casualty insurance industry have learned more about the scientific and...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Extends Residential Waiver Surcharge
Jun 12 2009 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association recently notified agents that its waiver surcharge program for residential dwellings has been extended to Sept. 1, 2009. June 1 marked the third anniversary of the residential...
Forecasters: Fewer Atlantic Hurricanes Predicted
Jun 5 2009 // Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University have lowered their prediction for the number of hurricanes they expect to hit the Atlantic Basin in 2009 to five, down from an April forecast of six hurricanes. According...
California Earthquake Authority CFO Named CFO of the Year
Jun 3 2009 // Tim Richison, chief financial officer of the California Earthquake Authority, has been named CFO of the Year by a regional business journal. Judges cited Richison’s achievements as part of the original team at CEA....
New Aon Terrorism Threat Map Shows Shift in Sphere of Conflict
Jun 3 2009 // Aon has just issued the latest version of its “Terrorism Threat Map.” The most significant change from previous maps shows a “shift in Islamist terrorist activity from the Middle East to South...
Tornado-Destroyed Kansas Town to Get $4.4M for Infrastructure
Jun 3 2009 // The southwest Kansas town of Greensburg, destroyed two years ago by a massive tornado, will receive $4.4 million in federal grants to help repair streets and build a new business park. The U.S. Department of...
P/C Insurers Apply Lessons from Hurricane Katrina
Jun 2 2009 // The property/casualty insurance industry is employing advancements in catastrophe modeling and considering the impact of the creation of a national catastrophe fund as it applies lessons learned from Hurricane...
A.M. Best Concerned Over Insurers’ Exposure to the Florida Hurricane Fund
Jun 1 2009 // Based on the recently revised projected claims-paying capacity of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), rating agency A.M. Best has updated its treatment of reinsurance provided to rated entities from this...
California Wildfires: Coverage Disputes May Be Heating Up
Jun 1 2009 // On a number of well-publicized occasions, California homeowners have been ravaged by a series of wildfires with devastating results. Most recently in May in Santa Barbara, for example, the Jesusita Fire burned 80 homes and...
Texas House Sends Windstorm Reforms to Conference
Jun 1 2009 // The Texas House approved a conference committee report on Saturday to hammer out windstorm insurance reform legislation with senators. House lawmakers sent the measure — which could cause lawmakers to be called back...
Average 2009 Hurricane Season with Several Category 3 Storms Predicted
Jun 1 2009 // June 1 is the official start of hurricane season and the National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration has said the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will be fairly average. Reuters reported that NOAA is forecasting nine...
Texas Legislators Pass Windstorm Insurance Bill
Jun 1 2009 // On the first day of the official hurricane season for 2009, and on the last day of the Texas legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed a bill that would recapitalize the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association...
