Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Travelers Deploys Response Units to States Affected by Tornadoes
Feb 7 2008 // Travelers mobilized its catastrophe response unit Wednesday including sending four mobile claim headquarters to tornado-affected areas in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The mobile units will be strategically...
Brutal Tornadoes Lacerate Southern States Killing at Least 48 People
Feb 6 2008 // A severe weather front fell upon the Southern states inciting a series of strong tornadoes that moved across Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, wreaking damage and killing at least 48. As the information of the...
Former Hurricane Program Manager to Head Ala. Emergency Agency
Feb 1 2008 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley appointed Brock Long to serve as director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Long has served in emergency management at the state and federal levels specializing in hurricane planning and...
Allstate 4Q Profit Falls 37% as Calif. Wildfire Losses Top $300M
Jan 31 2008 // Hit by an increase in catastrophe losses, Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer Allstate Corp. saw its profit drop by more than 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The fourth quarter net...
9th Windstorm Insurance Forum to Focus on Fla. Property Concerns
Jan 30 2008 // The concerns of property insurance in Florida and the perils facing the property insurance industry are some of the key issues to be addressed at the Ninth Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference, set for Feb. 4 – 7 in...
Ohio Insurance Director Issues Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Bulletin
Jan 29 2008 // Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson earlier this month issued a bulletin concerning the recent extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), as enacted by Congress and signed by the President. The...
Mo. Governor Seeks Federal Help to Recover from Rare Winter Tornadoes
Jan 28 2008 // Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is seeking federal help recovering from a storm that churned up rare winter tornadoes. Two people died, 30 others were injured and more than 400 homes were damaged in the storms that started the...
National Hurricane Center Names New Director
Jan 28 2008 // The National Hurricane Center’s new chief said he would deal with problems behind the scenes and work to boost morale among staffers who helped oust the former director for his outspokenness. Bill Read, 58, had been...
More Atlantic Hurricane Activity Doesn’t Mean More Landfall Risk
Jan 27 2008 // New research on the link between the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and U.S. landfall activity suggests that using Atlantic basin hurricane activity as a proxy for landfall activity can lead to erroneous...
La.’s Valued Policy Law: New Teeth for Hurricane Claims?
Jan 27 2008 // Property damage from hurricanes primarily comes from two sources: wind and water. Insurance coverage for property damaged by wind, and by rain water which enters the property as a result of wind damage, is generally...
Southern California Wildfire Losses Could Top $2 Billion
Jan 27 2008 // The California Department of Insurance announced that 37,117 claims have been filed since the wildfires broke out in Southern California in October 2007, and 1,531 of those claims are known to be total losses. Insurers...
Texas Windstorm Issues Focus of Public Hearing Jan. 29
Jan 25 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance will hold a public hearing on Jan. 29 to consider proposals by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association that concern both residential and commercial properties. TWIA is requesting...
WKF&C Offers Earthquake Deductible Buybacks Coverage
Jan 25 2008 // Tom Wilson, president of WKF&C Agency, Inc., has announced that his firm will be offering earthquake deductible buybacks from an A.M. Best-rated “A” admitted carrier. With all construction types...
Ark. Gov.: 5 Counties Disaster Areas Due to Tornado, Thunderstorm
Jan 16 2008 // Ark. Governor Mike Beebe declared Benton, Conway, Craighead, Poinsett and Pope Counties state disaster areas due to the damage caused by thunderstorms and tornadoes on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8. Beebe’s declaration releases...
Tornado in Ky. Brings $500,000 in Damage
Jan 15 2008 // Weather officials have confirmed a tornado touched down and caused damage last week in south central Kentucky. A storm survey team with the National Weather Service rated the tornado an EF-1, with maximum wind speeds of...
Frequency of Ohio Earthquakes Seems on the Rise
Jan 15 2008 // It was just a relatively small shake, an earthquake beneath Lake Erie that was a mild 3.1 magnitude that could be felt in some lakeshore communities. Still, Ohio seems increasingly prone to the shakes; there have been 25...
Risk Management Solutions Comments on French Windstorm Securitization
Jan 14 2008 // Risk Management Solutions gave details of the recent analysis it conducted for a securitization of windstorm risk in France. The securities were issued through Green Valley Ltd., a special purpose vehicle (SPV), and...
Stronger Earthquake Code Rules For Ark. On Hold
Jan 13 2008 // An Arkansas legislative committee in early January 2008 put off a review of the state’s building code after lawmakers questioned costs related to making structures withstand earthquakes that come once every 2,500...
Zero Consumer Complaints From Hurricane Humberto Claims
Jan 13 2008 // No consumer complaints have been received by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in response to the insurance industry’s handling of the estimated 5,000 auto, homeowner and commercial claims that resulted from...
Southern California Wildfire Losses Could Reach More than $2 Billion
Jan 11 2008 // The California Department of Insurance announced that since the wildfires broke out in Southern California in October 2007, 37,117 claims have been filed, and 1,531 of those claims are known to be total losses, with an...
