Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Calif. hospitals may not meet earthquake safety standards
Jan 28 2007 // Nearly half of California hospital buildings in danger of collapsing during a major earthquake will not meet a state deadline for safety improvements, according to a new study. Standards passed after the deadly 1994...
Building Codes Worked During Hurricane Rita, Study Shows
Jan 26 2007 // A study of 9,835 reported claims on residential dwellings damaged in Hurricane Rita conducted by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) shows that building codes work, the association announced. TWIA is the...
La. Gov. Criticizes Bush for No Mention of Hurricane Recovery in Speech
Jan 25 2007 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco angrily criticized President George W. Bush on Jan. 24 for leaving out of his State of the Union speech any mention of the hurricanes that devastated Louisiana in 2005 and complained that her...
Earthquake Rattles Indonesia, But No Major Destruction
Jan 23 2007 // A 7.3-magnitude earthquake rattled buildings in northeastern Indonesia Sunday, causing panicked residents to flee homes, churches and shopping malls in fear of a tsunami that never came, officials and witnesses said. A...
Study: Many California Hospitals Will Not Meet Deadline for Earthquake Safety Measures
Jan 22 2007 // Nearly half of California hospital buildings in danger of collapsing during a major earthquake will not meet a state deadline for safety improvements, according to a new study. Tough standards passed after the deadly 1994...
AAIS Files Terrorism Loss Costs in Commercial Properties
Jan 19 2007 // The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) is introducing loss costs for pricing terrorism coverage in its Commercial Properties Program. A countrywide manual supplement filing, now underway, will substitute the...
Report: U.S. Rails with Hazardous Materials Vulnerable to Terrorists
Jan 18 2007 // Train lines that carry hazardous shipments have little or no police presence and shoddy security that makes them easy targets for terrorists, according to a newspaper investigation. During a several-month, nationwide...
La. Resident Pleads Guilty to Hurricane-Related Federal Fraud Charge
Jan 18 2007 // A Louisiana resident pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on a charge of fraud related to hurricane disaster relief programs, U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas of the Middle District of...
Fla. Session Day 1: Expanding State’s Hurricane Cat Fund Tops the Agenda
Jan 17 2007 // When Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio and State Senate President Ken Pruitt slammed their gavels in opposite sides of the Florida Capitol Tuesday signaling commencement of a special legislative session, the hopes and...
Burns & Wilcox To Offer Commercial Earthquake Coverage
Jan 16 2007 // Burns & Wilcox, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based national specialty insurance wholesaler, underwriter and managing general agent, is offering of a new commercial “all risks” property program that includes...
P/C Execs Expect Terrorism Insurance Renewal, Win in Katrina Suits
Jan 11 2007 // Leaders of the property/casualty insurance industry expect Congress to extend the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act in 2007, according to a survey conducted by the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) at its 11th annual...
Earthquake Rattles Two Southeastern Oklahoma Towns
Jan 11 2007 // Oklahoma’s first earthquake of 2007 rattles two small southeastern towns, authorities said. No damage or injuries were reported when the 2.5 temblor hit the western Coal County communities of Tupelo and Clarita about...
Citation Re Offers Stand-Alone Terrorism Coverage
Jan 9 2007 // Citation Re, a New York- based reinsurance company, is making available terrorism coverage for suburban risks. This stand-alone terrorism coverage has limits up to $65 million. Citation Re also announced the promotion of...
Tornadoes deliver Christmas disaster for Floridians
Jan 8 2007 // Four Christmas Day tornadoes damaged hundreds of Florida homes, with one flipping airplanes at a flight school and tearing the roofs off three apartment buildings, according to officials. Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of...
Absence of hurricane losses proves beneficial to insurers’ bottomline
Jan 8 2007 // P/C industry posts $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting in first three quarters of 2006 Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty...
Absence of hurricane losses proves beneficial to insurers’ bottomline
Jan 7 2007 // News Currents Driven by a sharp decline in catastrophe losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters in 2006, the U.S. property/casualty industry posted a $24.4 billion net gain on underwriting through nine months....
Safeco Estimates its Pacific Northwest Windstorm Losses at $20 Million
Jan 5 2007 // Seattle-based Safeco announced estimated after-tax catastrophe losses from the Pacific Northwest windstorm in Nov. and Dec. 2006 of $20 million, or $0.18 per diluted share. Pretax catastrophe losses from the storm are...
Insurer Group to Target Windstorm Funding in Texas
Jan 4 2007 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) funding issues will be the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) top legislative priority in its Southwestern region, the insurer group announced. The...
Mo. Commissioners Elect to Purchase Terrorism Coverage
Jan 2 2007 // Cape Girardeau County, Mo. government buildings have been insured against a terrorist attack, ensuring that taxpayers won’t be stuck with the cost of rebuilding. In approving purchase of the policy late last week,...
Natural Disasters, Workers’ Comp Still California Concerns, Garamendi Says
Jan 2 2007 // Outgoing California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said “California is not prepared for the financial consequences of a major disaster” and more work needs to be done to improve the state’s...
