Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tornadoes deliver Christmas disaster for Floridians
Jan 8 2007 // Four Christmas Day tornadoes damaged hundreds of Florida homes, with one flipping airplanes at a flight school and tearing the roofs off three apartment buildings, according to officials. Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of...
Absence of hurricane losses proves beneficial to insurers’ bottomline
Jan 8 2007 // P/C industry posts $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting in first three quarters of 2006 Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty...
Absence of hurricane losses proves beneficial to insurers’ bottomline
Jan 7 2007 // News Currents Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through nine months....
Safeco Estimates its Pacific Northwest Windstorm Losses at $20 Million
Jan 5 2007 // Seattle-based Safeco announced estimated after-tax catastrophe losses from the Pacific Northwest windstorm in Nov. and Dec. 2006 of $20 million, or $0.18 per diluted share. Pretax catastrophe losses from the storm are...
Insurer Group to Target Windstorm Funding in Texas
Jan 4 2007 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) funding issues will be the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) top legislative priority in its Southwestern region, the insurer group announced. The...
Mo. Commissioners Elect to Purchase Terrorism Coverage
Jan 2 2007 // Cape Girardeau County, Mo. government buildings have been insured against a terrorist attack, ensuring that taxpayers won’t be stuck with the cost of rebuilding. In approving purchase of the policy late last week,...
Natural Disasters, Workers’ Comp Still California Concerns, Garamendi Says
Jan 2 2007 // Outgoing California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said “California is not prepared for the financial consequences of a major disaster” and more work needs to be done to improve the state’s...
Public Adjuster Fees Capped to Protect Florida Tornado Victims
Dec 29 2006 // TheFlorida Department of Financial Services is advising that due to Gov. Jeb Bush’s declaration of a state of emergency in Pasco, Volusia, Lake and Columbia counties as a result of widespread damage from tornadoes...
Report: N.Y. City Commuter Tunnels Vulnerable to Terrorist Activity
Dec 29 2006 // It has long been one of New York City’s nightmares: Terrorists target tunnels, flooding commuter lifelines and possibly some of the city itself. The grim scenario is getting renewed scrutiny after a new report...
Lloyd’s Comments on ‘Quiet’ 2006 Hurricane Season
Dec 29 2006 // Munich Re isn’t the only major insurance organization to express the industry’s collective sigh of relief as the year 2006 expires with relatively few major catastrophe losses (See related article above)....
Fla. Faces Destruction Delivered by 4 Christmas Tornadoes
Dec 28 2006 // Four Christmas Day tornadoes damaged hundreds of Florida homes, with one flipping airplanes at a flight school and tearing the roofs off three apartment buildings, accoording to officials. Gov. Jeb Bush late Tuesday...
Absence of Hurricane Losses Proves Beneficial to Insurers’ Bottomline
Dec 27 2006 // Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through nine months. The net gain on...
Florida Storm Hotline Ready to Assist Tornado Victims
Dec 27 2006 // Residents whose homes or businesses were damaged by tornados that struck several central Florida counties can call the Florida Department of Financial Services’ storm hotline at 1-800-22-STORM if they need help...
2 Small Earthquakes Rattle Oklahomans’ Nerves
Dec 26 2006 // Two minor earthquakes shook central Oklahoma, rattling nerves but causing no serious damage or injuries, authorities said. The quakes were centered in the Del City-Midwest City area east of Oklahoma City. The first struck...
Commissioners, compensation rules, earthquakes made for shaky ground
Dec 25 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
Aon Places California Earthquake Catastrophe Bond
Dec 22 2006 // Aon Corp., based in Chicago, announced that its investment banking group, Aon Capital Markets, completed the private placement of $190 million of principal at- risk variable rate notes for Munich Re. The placement provides...
Hurricanes Provide Florida with Practice for Handling Possible Pandemic
Dec 19 2006 // Hurricanes and flu outbreaks wouldn’t seem to have much in common. But Florida officials say that if a global outbreak of influenza emerges, sickening millions, many of the lessons learned responding to storms would...
TSR Predicts Active 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Dec 11 2006 // In an early assessment Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) forecast “a return to high hurricane activity in 2007.” The London-based consortium of experts on insurance, risk management and seasonal climate forecasting led...
Number of western businesses buying property terrorism coverage increases dramatically
Dec 11 2006 // Nearly six in 10 large and mid-sized U.S. businesses obtained insurance to cover property terrorism risks during 2005, an increase from the 2003 average of 27 percent and up from 50 percent in 2004. A report from insurance...
8 Texas commissioner allows windstorm rate hike
Dec 10 2006 // Although welcome, some think it’s not enough 9 Louisiana’s special session Despite protests, governor calls for 10-day session 10 Judge says water may be covered in New Orleans canal case Ambiguities in...
