Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

Natural Disasters to Dominate Insurance Agenda in Texas; Oklahoma’s New Commissioner Eyes Uninsured Motorists

Jan 7 2019 // The Texas Legislature meets every two years, so when state lawmakers are in Austin, they have a lot to deal with. That’s unlikely to change when the 140-day 86th Legislature’s regular session convenes on Jan....

5 Lessons to Take Away from the California Wildfires

Jan 7 2019 // The California wildfires of 2018 were devastating, burning hundreds of thousands of acres, costing numerous lives and destroying thousands of properties. The California Department of Insurance in early December put the...

AM Best: Negative Rating Implications from Wildfires for California Capital and Subsidiaries

Jan 7 2019 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of California Capital Insurance Co. and its...

3 Reasons Recovery from Hurricane Florence is Different from Hurricane Michael

Jan 7 2019 // Lessons from Past Storms and Economic Changes Suggest Rebuilding Efforts After Florence Will Be Arduous As the saying goes – location is everything. Following the two largest U.S. hurricanes this year, Hurricane...

Los Angeles Releases Earthquake Warning App

Jan 4 2019 // Los Angeles has released an earthquake warning app that could give LA County residents precious seconds to drop, cover and hold on in the event of a quake. The city announced this week that ShakeAlertLA is available for...

California Wildfires: Where Do We Go From Here?

Jan 2 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. The last few months of 2018 were record-setting and heartbreaking for the survivors of wildfires in California. The Camp Fire in Butte County quickly became the most...

Timber Farms in Florida, Georgia Suffering After Hurricane Michael

Jan 2 2019 // Strewn in gnarled piles from Florida’s Gulf Coast up through South Georgia, the livelihood of timber farmers is on the ground. And, after the ravaging buzz saw of Hurricane Michael in early October, it will be a...

Tropical Storm Usman Becomes Philippines’ 2nd Deadliest Weather Disaster in 2018

Dec 31 2018 // Tropical Storm Usman, which entered the Philippines on Christmas Day, emerged as the deadliest weather disaster for the country this year following Typhoon Mangkhut in September. Usman, a slow-moving storm with winds of up...

North Dakota Still Working to Improve Warnings After Deadly Tornado

Dec 31 2018 // The impact of a deadly summer tornado that struck western North Dakota is still being felt as work continues to improve the area’s weather warning system. The EF2 tornado slammed into the Prairie View RV Park in...

Lawyers Scramble to Get Piece of the Action in California Wildfire Lawsuits

Dec 31 2018 // In a conference room 13 miles from Paradise, California, Doug Boxer explains to survivors of the state’s worst wildfire why they should choose his law firm to sue PG&E Corp. He walks a fine line between listening...

Insurance Journal West’s Top Stories for 2018: California Commissioner Race, Hawaii Lava, Wildfire Losses

Dec 31 2018 // Another year down, and too many fascinating news headlines to count. Hawaii’s lava, the race for California insurance commissioner, and a $23 million ruling in a lawsuit against Geico were among the most popular...

Florida Regulator Calls on Insurers to Handle Hurricane Michael Claims

Dec 31 2018 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier is urging Florida insurers to close the more than 42,000 Hurricane Michael claims that remain open nearly three months after the storm. In a Dec. 19 memorandum to all property...

Insurance Journal Southeast’s Top Stories for 2018: Fraud, Hurricanes, Data Security Law

Dec 31 2018 // It was a busy year in the Southeast with two major hurricanes that wreaked havoc on the region, an escalating insurance crisis in Florida, and a new industry-specific cybersecurity law in South Carolina that takes effect...

Florida County Wants Hurricane Michael Named Category 5 Storm

Dec 28 2018 // Some officials in one Florida Panhandle county are pushing for Hurricane Michael to be labelled a Category 5 storm. The News-Herald reports that some in Bay County – which was hit hard by the fierce October storm...

New South Wales Hailstorm Triggers Australia Catastrophe Declaration

Dec 28 2018 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) last week declared a catastrophe following storms that caused extensive hail and water damage across Sydney and the Central Coast in New South Wales (NSW). As of Dec. 21, insurers...

Most Insurers to Increase Payments to California Wildfire Victims Without Itemization

Dec 28 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said this week that most insurers were following a notice he issued requesting that residential property insurers provide at least 75 percent and up to 100 percent of contents...

5 Lessons to Take Away from the California Wildfires

Dec 28 2018 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv The California wildfires of 2018 were devastating, burning hundreds of thousands of acres, costing numerous lives and destroying thousands of properties. The California Department of...

70 Mobile Homes Damaged by Mid-December Tornadoes in Central Florida

Dec 27 2018 // A tornado damaged more than 70 homes in a mobile home park and a 90-year-old woman was taken to a hospital after a roof fell on her head after a day of wild weather in central Florida Dec. 20. Officials in Pasco County,...

Indonesia Volcano Alert Widened as Ash Clouds Affect Aviation After Deadly Tsunami

Dec 27 2018 // Indonesian authorities widened an area marked as a danger zone around the Mount Anak Krakatau as the volcano continued to send hot ash clouds into the sky after a weekend tsunami triggered by a landslide killed more than...

A.M. Best: Negative Rating Implications from Wildfires for California Capital And Subsidiaries

Dec 21 2018 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of California Capital Insurance Co. and its...