Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

Many Missourians in Need of Earthquake Insurance, Officials Report

Dec 12 2005 // Barely four out of every 10 Missouri homeowners carry earthquake insurance, a cause of concern cited Friday as Gov. Matt Blunt heard briefings on the state’s earthquake preparations. Blunt held a closed-door Cabinet...

Insurer Downgrades Possible Without Terrorism Insurance Renewal

Dec 9 2005 // An article published by Standard Poor’s Ratings Services stated that if Congress fails to renew or extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), the commercial lines property/casualty insurance sector will be...

Hurricane Wilma Reduced Fla. Orange Growers Production

Dec 9 2005 // Hurricane Wilma darkened the outlook for Florida orange growers, reducing production estimates by 15 percent, the Agriculture Department said. Still, this year’s crop will outdo last year’s by about 8 percent...

Colorado State Experts Predict 17 Named Atlantic Tropical Storms, Nine Hurricanes in 2006

Dec 8 2005 // Predictions of 17 named storms in the Atlantic basin next year, with nine developing into hurricanes, have been predicted by William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of Colorado State University. The experts forecast five major...

House Floor Vote on Terrorism Insurance Expected Today

Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that would extend the federal terrorism insurance backstop through 2007 is likely to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives this afternoon. TRIA, passed a year after the attacks of Sept. 11,...

House of Representatives Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill

Dec 7 2005 // Legislation that will extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for an additional two years passed on the House of Representatives floor today. The House bill (S. 467) passed by a vote of 371 to 49. The Senate already...

Aspen Updates Losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma

Dec 6 2005 // Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited has updated its assessment of estimated losses from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Based on the information available and evaluations to date, Aspen estimates that its...

FEMA Urges Floridians to Buy Flood Insurance; Floods #1 on List of U.S. Natural Disasters

Dec 6 2005 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued a plea urging all Florida residents that own property designated by the National Flood Insurance Program as being in a high-risk flood area they need to obtain flood...

Colorado State University Review Finds 2005 Hurricane Season ‘Most Active, Destructive’ on Record

Dec 5 2005 // A list of the 2005 hurricane season’s most unique characteristics and facts has been released by Colorado State University. A CSU statement said that the just-completed hurricane season was the most active and...

America’s Actuaries: Permanent Government Role in Terrorism Insurance Necessary

Dec 5 2005 // The nation’s actuaries contend that the government must be involved if insurance for the damages caused by a terrorist strike is to be made widely available. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act subgroup of the American...

A Hurricane in December? Epsilon Churns the Atlantic

Dec 5 2005 // The hurricane “season” is largely expected to come to a finish by the end of November, and for the Caribbean and U.S. coastal regions hopefully it has. However, Hurricane Epsilon, the 29th named storm of this...

Experts Predict More Advances Soon in Ability to Predict Hurricanes

Dec 5 2005 // Hurricane Wilma was briefly the most intense Atlantic storm on record as it moved through the Caribbean toward the Gulf Coast. That was the last thing Gulf residents wanted to hear. Two months earlier, Hurricane Katrina...

$100 BILLION HURRICANE:

Dec 5 2005 // A major hurricane making landfall in the New York City metropolitan area would result in approximately $50 billion of insured losses with total economic losses exceeding $100 billion, according to an expert. That scenario...

Experts Predict More Advances Soon in Ability to Predict Hurricanes

Dec 5 2005 // Researchers On the Verge of Predicting How Strong and Big a Hurricane Will Become Hurricane Wilma was briefly the most intense Atlantic storm on record as it moved through the Caribbean toward the Gulf Coast. That was the...

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale Serving Eighth Term; Hurricane Katrina Wasn’t Much, Compared to the After

Dec 4 2005 // In public and in an interview with Insurance Journal, Misissippi Insurance Commis-sioner George Dale comes across as a laid-back Mississippi farm-boy, but the commissioner, who has been reelected for eight terms, has...

Illinois Duo Seeks to Radio Midwesterners of Region’s Earthquake Threat

Dec 4 2005 // Harvey Henson knows people might not fret much about Midwest earthquakes. But since this region has one of the nation’s most active underground faults, that lack of preparedness makes him tremble. “It’s...

Experts Predict More Advances Soon in Ability to Predict Hurricanes

Dec 4 2005 // Hurricane Wilma was briefly the most intense Atlantic storm on record as it moved through the Caribbean toward the Gulf Coast. That was the last thing Gulf residents wanted to hear. Two months earlier, Hurricane Katrina...

Calif. Court Rules in Favor of Earthquake Policyholders

Dec 2 2005 // An insurance broker was a representative for the California Fair Plan Insurance Co. with regard to the Northridge earthquake revival statute, which gave policyholders another year to file lawsuits against their insurers in...

Scruggs, Bailey to Debate Coverage in the Aftermath of Hurricanes at UT Insurance Law Institute

Dec 1 2005 // The Continuing Legal Education division of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin announced that its 10th Annual Insurance Law Institute, to be held Dec. 7 – 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin,...

Condominium Associations Urged: Use Fla. Mediation Program to Settle Hurricane Claim Disputes

Dec 1 2005 // A mediation program to help condominium associations resolve disputes with their insurance companies over hurricane claims has been suggested by Tom Gallagher, Florida CFO. Gallagher said the mediation program, established...