Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Weakening Hurricane Jose Could Graze Massachusetts Wednesday
Sep 18 2017 // A weakened Hurricane Jose could graze the Northeast as Hurricane Maria tears through the Caribbean, gaining strength and possibly heading toward the U.S. in a week. Jose will probably be downgraded to a tropical storm as...
Hey Congress, Hurricanes and Health Care Have a Lot in Common: Bloomberg View
Sep 18 2017 // As Congress continues to struggle with health insurance reform, members should be ruminating on the scenes of “recovery” beaming in from East Texas and Florida, where the majority of households — many now...
A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies
Sep 18 2017 // Although insured losses as a result of Hurricane Irma will not be as severe as originally forecast, the storm still represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the...
Hurricane Costs Become Talk of Monte Carlo’s Reinsurance Rendezvous
Sep 18 2017 // As Hurricane Irma battered Florida, the cream of the insurance world — gathered in Monte Carlo — was assessing the costs of the storm for the global industry. The takeaway so far: Irma and its predecessor,...
Hurricane Maria Speeds Up, Threatening Already-Battered Caribbean Islands
Sep 17 2017 // For the third time this month, a hurricane is spinning toward the already battered Caribbean and gathering strength along the way. The National Hurricane Center upgraded tropical storm Maria to a hurricane Sunday as winds...
ICT Pegs Hurricane Harvey Insured Losses at $19B
Sep 15 2017 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has placed the insured losses from Hurricane Harvey at $19 billion. That number includes an estimated $11 billion in flood losses insured by the National Flood Insurance...
M4.2 Earthquake Shakes Central Alaska
Sep 14 2017 // A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has hit central Alaska, the Alaska Earthquake Center has confirmed. According to the center, the earthquake struck at 11:32 p.m. on Tuesday and its epicenter was 39 miles north of the town of...
Texas AG Sues 3 Businesses for Price Gouging During Hurricane Harvey
Sep 13 2017 // Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against three Texas businesses, accusing them of unlawful price gouging while consumers were in need of fuel, shelter and other essentials as a result of Hurricane...
Texas Mutual Creates $10M Fund for Policyholders Affected by Hurricane Harvey
Sep 13 2017 // Workers’ compensation insurance provider Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has established a grant of $10 million to policyholders affected by Hurricane Harvey. The grant program is intended to support the recovery of...
Willis Towers Watson: Hurricane Harvey Could Upend Commercial Insurance Prices
Sep 13 2017 // Hurricane Harvey could upend a trend of nearly flat commercial insurance prices that has continued since 2015, Willis Towers Watson said in its latest industry survey. “Insurers are bracing for a significant volume...
Cat Facility CCRIF to Pay 6 Caribbean Nations $29.6M for Hurricane Irma Damage
Sep 13 2017 // Cayman Islands-based CCRIF (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) will make payments totaling US$29.6 million to six Caribbean nations recovering from Hurricane Irma. CCRIF’s parametric tropical...
Hurricane Irma May Push Island States to Seek Climate Change Aid
Sep 13 2017 // Devastation from Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean will sharpen the demands from small island nations that top fossil-fuel consumers help them cope with damage attributable to climate change, according to representatives of...
Death Toll from Mexico Earthquake Rises to 96
Sep 12 2017 // The death toll from Mexico’s 8.1 magnitude earthquake rose to 96 on Monday as more victims were confirmed in the hard-hit southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas and residents worked to repair shattered homes and small...
Travelers Insurance Expects Hurricane Harvey Losses Between $375M-$750M
Sep 12 2017 // The Travelers Companies Inc. estimates that its catastrophe losses relating to Hurricane Harvey, including estimated recoveries from reinsurance, will be in the range of $375 million to $750 million pre-tax ($245 million...
Hurricane Irma Adds to Pressure on New Greenlight Re Chief
Sep 12 2017 // Hedge fund manager David Einhorn has endured a number of losing bets at his insurance venture. Now, the weather is becoming a threat for his Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. The company’s stock has slumped about 9 percent...
Hurricane Harvey: Identifying the Insurance Gap
Sep 11 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As hurricane Harvey made landfall north of Corpus Christi last week, this Category 4 hurricane left devastation in its wake. CoreLogic® estimates that the total...
Hurricane Costs Become Talk of Monte Carlo’s Reinsurance Rendez-Vous
Sep 10 2017 // As Hurricane Irma battered Florida on Sunday, the cream of the insurance world — gathered under the Mediterranean sun in Monte Carlo — was assessing the costs of the storm for the global industry. The takeaway...
Irma Update: Tropical Storm Exits Florida for Georgia After Flooding Cities, Cutting Utilities
Sep 10 2017 // Downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, Irma flooded several northern Florida cities with heavy rain and a high storm surge on Monday as it headed out of the state after cutting power to millions and ripping roofs...
Chemical Fallout from Hurricane Irma Could Be Worse than Harvey’s
Sep 8 2017 // Before flames and smoke leaped into the sky over the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, last week, Jolyn Masters was hunkered down at home on a Hurricane Harvey-flooded street a mile away. Then came a knock. A...
New York’s ‘Sixth Borough’ with Trophy Condos in Hurricane Irma’s Path
Sep 8 2017 // Beyond the bar and the palm-fringed pool, past the gold-leafed columns and floor-to-ceiling murals, workers at the grand Faena Hotel Miami Beach prepared for Hurricane Irma’s fury. Their unusual assignment: fortify...
