Latest Catastrophe Headlines

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

Estimate of Losses From Devastating Hawaii Wildfires Increases to $14B-$16B

Aug 14 2023 // AccuWeather increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from the devastating wildfires burning in Hawaii to $14 to $16 billion.The update follows AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate last week of total...

Japan Faces Another Typhoon With Trains, Hundreds of Flights Canceled

Aug 14 2023 // Japan is preparing for its second typhoon in a week, with airline companies canceling flights and rail operators halting some operations.Typhoon Lan is forecast to make landfall Tuesday in central Japan near Osaka, the...

NOAA Increases Prediction for Atlantic Hurricane Season to “Above-Normal”

Aug 11 2023 // The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is increasing its prediction for the ongoing 2023 Atlantic hurricane season to “above-normal” activity.Warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures across much...

AccuWeather: Damage and Economic Loss from Wildfires in Hawaii $8B to $10B

Aug 10 2023 // AccuWeather’s preliminarily estimate of the total damage and economic loss from the wildfires burning in Hawaii is from $8 billion to 10 billion. The worst of the fires hit the Island of Maui, with the Lahaina area...

Liberty Mutual Posts Q2 Loss of $585M Driven By Catastrophes

Aug 10 2023 // Liberty Mutual Holding Co. reported a second-quarter net loss of $585 million, driven by catastrophe losses of about $2.27 billion.Tim Sweeney, president and CEO, said weather losses were primarily from widespread wind and...

Catastrophe Bond Funds Ranked Among 2023’s Top-Performing Credit Funds

Aug 10 2023 // Catastrophe bond funds rank among the 10 best performing credit funds this year, as the hurricanes, earthquakes and other disasters that could trigger payouts have either not happened or not been sufficiently severe.The...

Wind-Driven Hawaii Wildfire Destroying Maui Tourist Town

Aug 9 2023 // A wildfire erupted in Maui on Wednesday fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, destroying homes and businesses in a tourist town and forcing some residents to jump into the ocean to escape the flames.The Associated...

Consumer Specialists Available to Assist Tornado-Impacted Missouri Residents

Aug 8 2023 // The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) said that consumer specialists will be on-site at the Multi-Agency Resource Center in Knox County, Missouri, to answer insurance questions and assist residents...

Inflation, Catastrophe Losses Lead P&C Underwriting Loss in 2023

Aug 8 2023 // The overall property/casualty industry is expected to finish 2023 with a net combined ratio of 102.2, according to a recent webinar by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Milliman.Triple-I and Milliman...

Insured Loss Estimate for Turkey Earthquake Rises to US$3.4 Billion: PERILS

Aug 8 2023 // The third loss estimate for the Kahramanmaras Earthquake Sequence, which hit large parts of south-central Turkey and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, 2023, has risen to $3.4 billion, according to PERILS, the independent...

Pfizer Taking More Steps to Manage Inventory After NC Tornado Destroyed Warehouse

Aug 8 2023 // Pfizer Inc. said on Thursday it will begin making some products available only through its emergency ordering process, as part of steps to manage inventory at its North Carolina facility that was struck by a tornado last...

Compensation for New Mexico Wildfire Victims Tops $14M and is Climbing

Aug 7 2023 // More victims of a devastating wildfire sparked last year by the U.S. Forest Service in northern New Mexico are getting compensated, with payouts to landowners totaling more than $14 million as of early next week, federal...

Swiss Re H1 Net Income Surges to $1.4B on Lower Natural Catastrophe Losses

Aug 4 2023 // Swiss Re AG said first-half net income rose more than ninefold to $1.4 billion from a year earlier, driven by contained natural catastrophe losses and a rebound in its life and health business to pre-pandemic levels.Net...

Forecasters Stress Uncertainty in Latest Hurricane Forecast

Aug 4 2023 // Forecasters from Colorado State University (CSU) stressed uncertainty in their latest outlook on Thursday for the current Atlantic hurricane season, even as they held steady the number of storms expected.This year’s...

Europeans Lack Insurance Protection as Wildfires and Drought Batter the Region

Aug 3 2023 // Europeans are among the least insured against certain types of extreme weather and other natural disasters in the developed world, a predicament made more worrisome as the continent suffers a summer of devastating heat,...

Blazing a New Trail: Oregon Wildfire Regulatory Compliance

Aug 2 2023 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.Due to the ever-changing insurance market, property and casualty insurers across the country face multiple challenges today that can commonly disrupt their business...

Some Gains Made on 80K Acre Southern California Wildfire

Aug 1 2023 // Containment on an 80,000-plus-acre wildfire in Southern California grew to 23% on Tuesday, as firefighters made some progress against the state’s most massive ongoing blaze. It was listed as being at 0% containment a...

Allstate Records $2.7B Net Catastrophe Hit on Way to Q2 Loss of $1.4B

Aug 1 2023 // Allstate Corp. reported net catastrophe losses of $2.7 billion in the second quarter, resulting in a net loss for the period of $1.4 billion as catastrophe and underwriting losses offset other favorable factors.President...

Wildfire Risk Climbs for Spain as Heat Wave Moves to Iberia

Jul 31 2023 // The focus of Europe’s heat is switching to Spain, with a high risk of wildfires in southern parts of the Iberian peninsula.Southern Spain is expected to exceed 40C (104F) on Monday, with regions around Cordoba under...

CNA Financial Misses Profit Estimates on Higher P/C Catastrophe Losses

Jul 31 2023 // Insurer CNA Financial missed second-quarter profit estimates on Monday, as wider catastrophe losses in its property and casualty (P&C) segment partially offset higher investment income.Profits at insurers came under...