Latest Catastrophe Headlines

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

Senate Banking Committee Advances Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal

Nov 20 2019 // Legislation to renew the federal terrorism reinsurance program advanced another step today when it was passed by the Senate Banking Committee.The Senate legislation (S.2877) is identical to the bill (H.R. 4634) that passed...

House Passes Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal; Senate to Take Up Measure

Nov 19 2019 // The House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill reauthorizing the federal terrorism reinsurance program by a vote of 385-22.The vote came on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R....

Australia Warned to Expect More Fire Tornadoes

Nov 19 2019 // Fire tornadoes are set to become a more common feature of the Australian landscape as climate change takes hold later this century.That’s according to new research from the University of New South Wales’s...

Willis Re Securities Completes €120 Million Catastrophe Bond for France’s Covéa Mutual

Nov 19 2019 // Willis Re Securities reports it has structured and placed EUR 120 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) to provide reinsurance capacity for Covéa Mutual Insurance Group, France’s largest domestic...

Japan’s Largest Insurers Take Another Hit from Typhoon Losses

Nov 19 2019 // A string of powerful typhoons that struck Japan has left scars on the country’s non-life insurers, with industry giants likely forced to pay a combined $8 billion in insurance payments in the current fiscal year that...

Florida’s New Consumer Advocate Tackles Open Hurricane Michael Claims

Nov 19 2019 // Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter has been busy since taking office August 1. With more than 12,000 Hurricane Michael claims still open, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,...

Oklahoma Appeals Court Upholds Class Action Status for Earthquake Lawsuit

Nov 18 2019 // The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has upheld the class action designation of a lawsuit against an oil company over damage caused by earthquakes near Prague in November 2011, including one of magnitude 5.7.The court on...

Boosting Resilience to U.S. Wildfires Should Be Insurance Industry Priority: I.I.I.

Nov 18 2019 // Nearly a year after the deadliest and costliest wildfire in U.S. history, insurers and the customers they cover are revisiting how to reduce their collective exposure to this risk, according to the Insurance Information...

As Texas Windstorm Insurer Mulls Rates, Policyholders, Lawmakers Strongly Oppose Hikes

Nov 15 2019 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Gulf Coast is finding itself once again between a rock and a hard place — or perhaps more appropriately, between a hurricane and a...

North Carolina Officials Vote to Reopen Island Damaged by Hurricane Dorian

Nov 15 2019 // County commissioners on the North Carolina coast have moved to reopen an island ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.Acting on a recommendation from the Ocracoke Control Group, the Hyde County Commissioners on Monday adopted the...

Hail Has Damaged Insurance Market for Car Dealers. Parametric Insurance May Help.

Nov 14 2019 // Nick Pacifico has been working at his family’s Cadillac dealership in Denver since 2003. He’s never seen insurance costs this bad. “Getting coverage is nearly impossible,” said Pacifico, vice...

Australia Wildfires Continue to Rage, Destroying Homes, Forcing Evacuations

Nov 14 2019 // Scores of wildfires continued to rage across vast tracts of Australia’s drought-stricken east coast on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes, some for the second time in a week.The most...

Venice Floods, Australia Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change

Nov 14 2019 // Extreme floods in Venice, fires in Australia and even an outbreak of plague in China have been attributed to climate change this week, while researchers have warned that global warming could saddle future generations with...

Scientists Focus On Wiregrass Region of Alabama, Georgia for Tornado Study

Nov 14 2019 // Tornado researchers want to know more about how tornadoes form from squall lines in the Wiregrass region of Alabama and Georgia.That part of the South is of interest to Chris Weiss, a professor of atmospheric science at...

PURE Programs Launches California High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Program

Nov 13 2019 // PURE Programs has launched a new High Wildfire Risk Homeowners Insurance program, with coverages for retail insurance brokers serving clients that own high value homes in California at greater-risk of loss from...

Despite Wildfires, California Wine is Doing Just Fine – For Now

Nov 12 2019 // If you’re worried that wildfires might have created shortages of Northern California’s 2019 cabernet sauvignon, or even just imparted it with an undesirable smoky flavor, you can relax. The wine is just fine....

PG&E California Wildfire Victims Sue to Get Paid Before Fire Insurers

Nov 12 2019 // PG&E Corp. wildfire victims have filed a new lawsuit arguing they must be fully repaid for the losses of their homes and businesses before fire insurers are as part of the utility’s bankruptcy.The case takes aim...

Pool Re Forms Specialist Unit to Help U.K. Insurers Build Terrorism Risk Resilience

Nov 12 2019 // Pool Re, Britain’s government-backed terrorism reinsurer, has launched of Pool Re “Solutions,” a specialist unit created to support its member insurers and their policyholders by sharing the understanding...

Insurance Council of Australia Declares Catastrophe for New South Wales Bushfires

Nov 12 2019 // The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) on Nov. 9 declared a catastrophe for the bushfires blazing in northern New South Wales.The catastrophe declaration is for communities on the mid-north coast affected by bushfires...

Texas Windstorm Insurer Actuarial Committee to Meet Again for Rate Review

Nov 12 2019 // The Actuarial & Underwriting Committee of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) will meet Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 pm for review and possible action regarding development of recommendations to the...