Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Progress Made on California Central Coast Wildfires
Oct 2 2017 // Firefighters made progress on trio of wildfires on California’s Central Coast. Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason said that a marine layer of cooler, wetter air helped fire crews contain 60 percent of...
Cost of Fighting Montana Wildfires Approach $400M
Oct 2 2017 // The cost of fighting wildfires in Montana is approaching $400 million at the tail end of the state’s worst wildfire season in two decades. To date, wildfires have burned almost 1,900 square miles, slightly more than...
Hurricane Claim Insurance Checks Drive New Car Sales
Oct 2 2017 // As Hurricane Harvey poured on Houston, Frank Rodriguez feared for his 2014 GMC Sierra. Once he saw the pickup’s soaking-wet interior and center console full of water, he knew it was a lost cause. He just hoped his...
12th Nursing Home Resident Dies After Hurricane Irma-Related AC Outage
Oct 2 2017 // A 12th patient has died after being taken from an overheated Florida nursing home that lost its air conditioning during Hurricane Irma, officials confirmed on Friday. Dolores Biamonte, 57, died Thursday night, according to...
Florida Hurricane Irma Losses Keep Rising
Oct 2 2017 // With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma’s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by...
A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies
Oct 2 2017 // Hurricane Irma represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are...
States Should Implement Stronger Safeguards for Consumers in Natural Disasters: Rutgers Report
Oct 2 2017 // As homeowners file insurance claims in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, many could find their level of protection depends on the state where their damaged home is located, according to a research report released by...
With Hurricane Losses Insurers Downgrade Anticipated Profit Goals
Oct 2 2017 // Allstate expects insurance losses of about $593 million for August mainly due to Hurricane Harvey, which left a path of destruction along the Gulf Coast. The initial accounting follows warnings from other insurers that are...
Climate Researchers Warn of Hotter Summers, More Wildfires, in Southern Europe
Sep 29 2017 // Climate researchers are warning that Europeans should prepare for the return of “Lucifer,” saying the hellishly named heat wave that hit parts of the continent this summer could become a regular occurrence due...
Economic Costs of Mexico’s Earthquake Could Surpass $2B
Sep 29 2017 // President Enrique Pena Nieto said Wednesday [Sept. 27] that preliminary accounting of the damage caused by the two big earthquakes that hit Mexico this month could cost upward of $2 billion (38.1 billion pesos). Pena Nieto...
RMS Estimates Hurricane Maria’s Insured Losses Will Range Between $15B and $30B
Sep 29 2017 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, estimated that the insured loss from Hurricane Maria will be between US$15 billion and US$30 billion. This estimate represents the insured losses associated...
1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake Anniversary A Reminder to Californians
Sep 29 2017 // The 30th anniversary of the 1987 magnitude 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake is Sunday, and the head of the California Earthquake Authority is using that to remind Californians to buy earthquake insurance. The quake was...
Beazley Estimates $150M Earnings Hit From Hurricanes, Earthquakes
Sep 29 2017 // Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley said on Friday it reckoned that its losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the Caribbean and southern United States and a series of earthquakes in Mexico would reduce its...
Georgia Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma Exceed $300M, And Growing
Sep 29 2017 // The Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance estimates that insured losses in the state from Hurricane Irma have now exceeded $300 million, with more than 50,000 property related insurance claims...
Chubb: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma Losses to Top $1 Billion
Sep 28 2017 // Chubb Ltd. has estimated it will see more than $1 billion in third-quarter losses stemming from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a substantial hit for the insurer and reinsurer. The loss estimate is preliminary. Further details...
Lloyd’s Expects $4.5 Billion Hit from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma
Sep 28 2017 // Lloyd’s of London expects net losses of $4.5 billion from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which analysts said would eat into the insurer’s capital and hit its profitability. Although losses from natural...
Global Reinsurers to Bear ‘Significant Share’ of Hurricane Maria Claims: A.M. Best
Sep 28 2017 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said it expects a significant share of the loss from Hurricane Maria to pass on to the global reinsurers evenly. The agency said it expects the loss would remain within the overall risk tolerance...
Citizens Estimates $1.23B In Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma
Sep 28 2017 // Hurricane Irma will generate up to 70,000 claims and approximately $1.23 billion of insured losses to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation over the next 18 to 24 months, according to initial estimates presented to...
Texas Regulators Seek Data on Insurers’ Hurricane Harvey Claims
Sep 27 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance has issued a mandatory data call to both admitted and surplus lines insurance carriers seeking information about Hurricane Harvey-related claims in 62 counties impacted by the storm. The...
Evacuations Ordered on North Carolina Outer Banks for Hurricane Maria
Sep 26 2017 // An evacuation was underway Tuesday on an island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Maria moved north. The Hyde County Sheriff’s office said the evacuation began at 5 a.m. Monday on Ocracoke Island. It...
