Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

N.Y. City, other U.S. centers need federal terrorism insurance to compete globally, says Supt. Dinallo

Mar 12 2007 // News Currents A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by...

Multistate natural disaster proposal garners mixed reaction

Mar 12 2007 // News Currents Insurance officials in Florida, where a spate of hurricanes have set the industry into turmoil, pitched the idea recently of multistate insurance pools for natural disasters to their colleagues from across...

Chicago Exchange offering futures contracts on ’07 hurricanes

Mar 12 2007 // The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is launching contracts that will allow insurers and others to hedge risk against hurricane damage. The exchange, a unit of CME Holdings Inc., is teaming up with Carvill Group, a reinsurance...

Industry gears up for more federal terrorism insurance debates

Mar 12 2007 // News Currents Insurance industry advocates urged Congress yet again to continue with a federal government role in terrorism risk insurance and to examine long-term solutions before the current backstop legislation, the...

New AIG Unit Formed to Help Manage Terrorism Exposure and Risks

Mar 7 2007 // The AIG Companies announced the formation of AIG Homeland Security Solutions. The new specialty unit will provide access to insurance, risk management and security products and services to help companies work to prevent,...

Kentucky Guardsmen, Emergency Teams Practice Earthquake Drills

Mar 6 2007 // National Guardsmen and emergency management officials in 13 western Kentucky counties spent last week responding to an earthquake that hadn’t actually occurred. The exercise simulated response to a magnitude 7.5...

Hurricane Rita’s Claims Total $5.8B in Texas and Louisiana

Mar 6 2007 // The final tally for the cost of claims from Hurricane Rita in both Louisiana and Texas came to $5.8 billion. Hurricane Rita’s 120 mile per hour winds plowed into the Texas/Louisiana border on Sept. 24, 2005, one...

D.C. Chief Hampton Backs Terrorism Insurance, But Not National Cat Plan

Mar 6 2007 // Renewal of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act is “very, very important” for the District of Columbia, yet a federal government plan to help cover natural disasters would be unfair, in the eyes...

In Manhattan: Agents, Insurers Renew Call for Federal Terrorism Insurance

Mar 5 2007 // In the heart of the world’s financial markets, insurance agents and companies today urged Congress to protect the country’s economic stability by ensuring availability of terrorism risk insurance through a...

U.S. Needs Terrorism Insurance to Compete Globally, Says N.Y.’s Dinallo

Mar 5 2007 // A continuing federal role in terrorism insurance is important so that U.S. financial centers including New York City can continue to compete with international markets, many of which are already covered by similar...

March in Like a Lion in Alabama; Tornadoes Bring Death, Damage

Mar 2 2007 // A preliminary bulletin issued by Alabama Emergency Management Agency late Thursday reported that there were 17 confirmed deaths in Coffee County and one confirmed death in Wilcox County due to damage caused by tornadoes...

Regulators Urge Senate to Move Quickly on Insuring Terrorism Risks

Mar 1 2007 // Speaking on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Division of Insurance, testified this week before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and...

Industry: Federal Terrorism Insurance Still Vital to National Security

Feb 28 2007 // Insurance industry advocates urged Congress today to ensure the availability of terrorism risk insurance through a continued federal government role and to examine long-term solutions before the current backstop...

World Bank, Caribbean Nations to Discuss Fund to Insure Against Natural Disaster

Feb 27 2007 // The World Bank and Caribbean nations are exploring the creation of a new fund to insure island nations against hurricanes and other natural disasters. Representatives from 18 Caribbean countries gathered Monday in...

Hawaii Reviewing Hurricane Cat Models

Feb 27 2007 // Hawaii’s Insurance Division, in its guidelines on supplemental rate filing requirements for property insurance, is advising that it will be reviewing the appropriateness of catastrophe models for hurricane exposure...

Tornadoes Reported in Four States; 27 Injured in Arkansas

Feb 27 2007 // Authorities went door to door in search of an unknown number of people who remained unaccounted for after severe storms swept through southern Arkansas, shredding home and businesses and injuring at least 27...

Chicago Exchange offering futures contracts on ’07 hurricanes

Feb 26 2007 // The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest derivatives exchange in the U.S., is launching contracts that will allow insurers and others to hedge risk against hurricane damage. The exchange, a unit of CME Holdings Inc.,...

Should windstorm be added to the NFIP?

Feb 26 2007 // U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., recently introduced the Multiple Peril Insurance Act, which would offer windstorm coverage as an option for consumers within the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill has sparked...

La.’s Blanco: Insurance industry over-reacting to 2005 hurricanes

Feb 26 2007 // The insurance industry is over-reacting to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, threatening the region’s recovery by withdrawing coverage and charging exorbitant rates, Gov. Kathleen Blanco told a gathering of insurance...

Agents welcome windstorm debate; insurers warn against subsidies

Feb 26 2007 // The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) says the debate over windstorm coverage is crucial for consumers and independent agents and brokers in many regions around the...