Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

Analysts Describe Quake/Tsunami Impact on Japan’s P/C Insurers as ‘Limited’

Mar 14 2011 // A decline in shares of Japanese non-life insurers including MS&AD Insurance Group [Mitsui Sumitomo] is expected to be temporary as the impact on their earnings of the earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan should be...

AIR’s Japan Quake/Tsunami Insured Loss Estimates: $15 Billion to $35 Billion

Mar 14 2011 // Boston-based catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s most recent statement, based on “currently available information, estimates that insured property losses from the Mw9.1 earthquake that struck Japan on...

CEA: Japan Earthquake A Lesson for Californians

Mar 11 2011 // The tragic tsunamis and Magnitude 8.9 earthquake that have struck Japan – the fifth largest quake in the world since 1900 – are a stark reminder that earthquakes can happen any time and it’s essential to prepare,...

Tsunami Damage on Western Coasts Minimal

Mar 11 2011 // The Pacific Warning Tsunami Center said waves that reached Hawaii — up to 7 feet high on Maui — as a result of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan “are not going to be a major damaging...

Insurers’ Share Prices Fall on Japan Earthquake News

Mar 11 2011 // Shares in European insurers and reinsurers fell sharply in early trading on Friday after Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, one of the biggest ever recorded. The quake, which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, hit off...

UPDATE-2 Huge Quake Triggered Tsunami Kills 100’s in Japan; Pacific on Alert

Mar 11 2011 // The biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan rocked its northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-meter |33 foot] tsunami that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its path. Thousands of residents near...

Lawmaker Files Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Reform Bill

Mar 10 2011 // Texas State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, has introduced House Bill 2818, a comprehensive reform effort intended to address many of the problems confronting the Texas Windstorm Insurance Agency (TWIA). In announcing...

California Earthquake Authority Targets $5 Million to Help Agents Sell Insurance

Mar 7 2011 // New Zealand’s 6.3 magnitude Christchurch earthquake is expected to be one of the costliest global insurance events since 2008, with total insured losses ranging between $3 billion and $12 billion. And it’s not...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Litigation Costs Too High, Lawmaker Says

Mar 7 2011 // The amount the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has paid out in litigation costs as a result of lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Ike claims is far too high, said one Texas lawmaker who’s working on...

California Earthquake Authority Targets $5 Million to Help Agents Sell Earthquake Insurance

Mar 7 2011 // New Zealand’s 6.3 magnitude Christchurch earthquake is expected to be one of the costliest global insurance events since 2008, with total insured losses ranging between $3 billion and $12 billion. And it’s not...

Best Comments on Impact of Christchurch Earthquake on New Zealand P/C Insurers

Mar 3 2011 // A.M. Best’s London office announced that it “has begun to assess the financial impact of the Feb. 22, 2011 Christchurch earthquake on New Zealand’s non-life insurance industry, and it expects capital...

Virginia Wildfires Still Going a Week Later

Mar 1 2011 // Virginia fire officials say it may be two weeks before wildfires in Rockingham County are fully contained. Fire officials tell WHSV-TV the fires that have burned hundreds of acres were 45 percent contained Sunday. Fire...

Texas Regulators Move to Take Over Windstorm Insurance Association

Feb 28 2011 // The Texas Department of Insurance has informed the director of the state’s property insurance company of last resort for wind in the state’s coastal counties that it is placing the organization under...

Missouri: Consumers not Being Protected with Earthquake Insurance

Feb 23 2011 // On the 200th anniversary of the great New Madrid earthquake, Missouri’s insurance director says most homeowners would not be adequately protected from an earthquake today. John M. Huff, director of the Missouri...

Texas Windstorm Insurance Litigation Costs Too High, Lawmaker Says

Feb 22 2011 // The amount the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has paid out in litigation costs as a result of lawsuits stemming from Hurricane Ike claims is far too high, says one Texas lawmaker who’s working on...

State Geologists Put Calif. Earthquake Maps Online

Feb 14 2011 // Anyone with an Internet connection can now find out whether the house they want to buy is on one of California’s earthquake faults. The California Geological Survey announced that it was posting its fault zone maps...

WKF&C to Offer Earthquake Coverage

Feb 9 2011 // San Francisco-based WKF&C Agency Inc. and Insurance Company of the West have announced a strategic partnership in which WKF&C will offer earthquake insurance on a monoline basis for select commercial business. The...

Virginia Officials Plan Statewide Tornado Drill

Feb 8 2011 // Virginia emergency management officials are planning to hold a statewide tornado drill. The drill is a joint effort between the state Department of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service. It will take place...

Massachusetts Allows for Terrorism Exclusion in Commercial Insurance

Feb 7 2011 // Commercial property insurers in Massachusetts will be allowed to exclude terrorism coverage from commercial fire insurance policies under a new law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick. The law modifies the standard fire insurance...

Businesses, Charities Call for End to Florida’s ‘Hurricane Tax’

Feb 7 2011 // A coalition of Florida charitable and business groups is pressing the state to eliminate assessments charged all policyholders to subsidize the state-backed insurance provider and hurricane claims fund. In a letter to Gov....