Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Officials Confirm Oklahoma Casino Hit with EF1 Tornado
Oct 25 2017 // Emergency managers say an Oklahoma casino had part of its roof torn off by an EF1 tornado during a concert that the state’s governor was attending. The twister touched down in Cleveland County, one of several...
XL Group Q3 Reports Losses in Excess of $1B on Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria
Oct 25 2017 // XL Group reported losses exceeding $1 billion for the 2017 third quarter, blaming Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria for the results. The net loss of $1.04 billion for Q3 amounted to negative-$4.06 per fully diluted share,...
Oklahoma’s Tornado King Ordered to Return More than $100K in Embezzlement Scheme
Oct 24 2017 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says William Stephens, the owner of Tornado King, a storm shelter manufacturing and installation company, pleaded no contest to six counts of embezzlement and one count of a pattern of...
Oklahoma Energy Companies Settle Suit over Earthquake Damage
Oct 24 2017 // A settlement has been reached between two Oklahoma oil and natural gas companies and a woman injured in a 2011 earthquake. Prague resident Sandra Ladra filed the lawsuit in 2014 against New Dominion LLC, Spess Oil Co. and...
California’s Wine Industry Taking Stock of Losses After Wildfires
Oct 23 2017 // Although still burning, the largest fires that have devastated California wine country are mostly contained, and winemakers, winery owners, and growers began taking stock this week of what they have—and...
CoreLogic: Hurricane Nate Property Damage Could Top $1B
Oct 23 2017 // Hurricane Nate preliminary loss estimates are estimated to be between $650 million and $1.35 billion, according to CoreLogic. The loss estimates were calculated based on data analysis, total insured and uninsured loss for...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Request to Raise Liability Limits Disapproved
Oct 20 2017 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan has declined to approve a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to raise the maximum limits of liability on windstorm and hail policies. TWIA in August filed a...
Swiss Re Estimates $3.6B in Claims from U.S. Hurricanes & Mexican Quakes
Oct 20 2017 // Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, estimated its claims burden from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the United States and from two earthquakes in Mexico at roughly $3.6 billion in the third...
Northern California Wildfires: Insurance Industry Ready to Assist With ‘Massive’ Recovery
Oct 20 2017 // Rebuilding the Northern California areas devastated by wildfire will be a long-term effort, and insurers say they will be there to help their affected policyholders get back on their feet. Tens of thousands of evacuees...
Early Data Shows Insured Losses from California Wildfires Already at $1B and Growing
Oct 19 2017 // Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today released preliminary data provided by eight California insurers processing claims for tens of thousands of policyholders that shows $1.045 billion in losses to commercial and...
In ‘Energy City’ USA, Hurricane Harvey’s Fury Lingers
Oct 19 2017 // It took five weeks for the largest U.S. oil refinery to get back to normal after Hurricane Harvey. It’s taking Port Arthur, Texas, a lot longer. Nearly two months after Harvey inundated Port Arthur, a crucial hub of...
Zurich Estimates Claims of US$700M from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma & Maria
Oct 19 2017 // Zurich Insurance Group estimates that Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will aggregate claims in the third quarter of approximately US$700 million, net of reinsurance and before tax. After tax, the losses are expected to...
Does a CPP Cover Trees Knocked Over by a Hurricane?
Oct 18 2017 // Last week we entered into a discussion of downed trees, in particular, trees downed by a hurricane. We spent our time dealing with the HO-3 policy and how it responds. If you didn’t catch that, take a look at last...
Georgia Estimates $550M in Insured Losses from Hurricane Irma
Oct 18 2017 // Georgia’s estimated insured losses from Hurricane Irma have climbed to more than $550 million, with insurers reporting approximately 103,163 claims filed so far, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph...
Joplin School District Still Haggling with FEMA over Cost of Tornado Repairs
Oct 17 2017 // More than six years after a deadly tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, the heavily damaged local school district has rebuilt. Exactly how much of those costs the district will have to shoulder remains up in the air. The...
Tornado in Oregon Damages Small Planes
Oct 17 2017 // Authorities say that it was a tornado that touched down south of Portland, Ore. last week overturning small airplanes, downing power lines and damaging several glass greenhouses. National Weather Service meteorologists say...
All Wildfire Damage to California Wineries May Not be Covered by Insurance
Oct 17 2017 // Wineries damaged by wildfires tearing through Northern California are starting insurance claims, and at least some of the smaller vintners are likely to find limits in their policies mean payouts fall short of rebuilding...
When Hurricanes Wreak Havoc: An Insurance Agency’s Perspective
Oct 16 2017 // Weathering a storm like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma or Maria requires planning, insurance and grit. In a span of 30 days the devastation from multiple hurricanes impacted millions of American families and businesses. When...
California Wildfires Threaten Significant Losses for P/C Insurers, Moody’s Says
Oct 16 2017 // Moody’s released a report on Monday assessing the impact of the wildfires in California on property/casualty insurers. “Based on history and the number of structures damaged, insured losses will run into the...
PG&E’s Possible Liability in California Wildfires Targeted by Investigators
Oct 16 2017 // PG&E Corp. at the end of last week capped its worst week in nine years on speculation that downed power lines may have played a role in deadly wildfires raging across California. And the rout is far from over. After...
