Latest Earthquake Headlines

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

Nevada Insurance Department Publishes Earthquake Insurance Guide

May 3 2011 // The Nevada Department of Insurance has published a consumer guide to earthquake insurance to encourage residents to evaluate appropriate coverage for their homes and businesses. The state is one of the most active states...

Oregon Lawmakers Consider Governance in Disaster

May 2 2011 // Oregon’s Constitution requires that the state Legislature meet in Salem. So what would happen if disaster struck Oregon and lawmakers needed to urgently approve relief funds in a capital city they couldn’t...

Overcapacity in P/C Insurance Keeping Commercial Prices Down

May 2 2011 // Most commercial lines insurance prices continued their downward trend in the first quarter, as underwriters’ efforts to hold the line on premiums buckled under the pressure of a highly overcapitalized market.Three of...

Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System

May 2 2011 // Michael Korn, managing principal at Integro Insurance Brokers, is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering he is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco.“We’re...

S&P: Japan’s Rating Outlook Now Negative on Quake Costs; Affirms Debt Ratings

Apr 27 2011 // Standard and Poor’s threatened to cut Japan’s sovereign credit rating again, warning the huge cost of last month’s devastating earthquake will hurt already weak public finances unless bickering...

Overcapacity in P/C Insurance Keeping Commercial Prices Down

Apr 26 2011 // Most commercial lines insurance prices continued their downward trend in the first quarter, as underwriters’ efforts to hold the line on premiums buckled under the pressure of a highly overcapitalized market.Three of...

Munich Re Ups Dividend, Comments on Impact of 2011 Disasters

Apr 21 2011 // Munich Re’s annual general meeting (AGM) produced some good news for the shareholders of the world’s largest reinsurer. It announced a dividend increase to €6.25 [$9.138] per share for the financial year...

Tremblor Shakes SF on Anniversary of 1906 Quake

Apr 20 2011 // A small earthquake centered near San Francisco rattled the area hours after a ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city.The U.S. Geological Survey says the...

Catlin Estimates Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Losses at $200 Million

Apr 20 2011 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited announced that its initial estimate of the financial impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated areas of northeast Japan, are expected to be around $200 million,...

Summary of Re/Insurers’ Loss Estimates from Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami

Apr 19 2011 // Some of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers have issued initial estimates of how much the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11 will cost them and more are expected do so over the next few weeks.Risk modeling...

ABIR Reports 2010 Results for Bermuda’s Re/Insurers; $11.4 Bn Net Income

Apr 18 2011 // The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) has released the 2010 global underwriting results for its 22 member (re)insurers – companies that write insurance and reinsurance from underwriting centers in...

Japan’s Tragedy a Reminder of Need for Business Interruption Insurance

Apr 18 2011 // The human, social and economic devastation in Japan from the massive earthquake and tsunami is overwhelming and business losses are just beginning to be tallied.Companies in the United States that purchase products or...

San Francisco 1906 Earthquake: What If It Happened Today?

Apr 14 2011 // Seismologists predict a major earthquake, similar in size to the 1906 quake, can hit the San Francisco area at any time. With inflation and exposure added, the total property loss if such an event occurred today could be...

Baldwin & Lyons Predicts $15.5M Loss from International Catastrophes

Apr 13 2011 // Indianapolis, Ind.-based property and casualty insurer Baldwin & Lyons Inc. announced that, based on preliminary information received from its ceding reinsurers, the estimated after tax loss associated with first...

Tokyo Rethinking Its Earthquake Plan After Japan Disaster

Apr 11 2011 // More than 10,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands injured, nearly one million buildings destroyed, millions forced to evacuate and a fifth of Japan’s economy wiped out.That’s the scenario forecast if a huge...

Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast Coast

Apr 7 2011 // Another Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast CoastA strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook the northeast of Japan late on Thursday, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by...

New Zealand to Back Insurer AMI Despite Budget Pain

Apr 7 2011 // New Zealand’s government has agreed to provide financial support for AMI, the country’s second-largest residential insurer, after two major earthquakes threatened to deplete its capital, Finance Minister Bill...

Aon Benfield Launches Cyprus Earthquake Model

Apr 7 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., has launched an earthquake model for the island of Cyprus, following requests from insurers seeking “to increase their understanding...

Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part II

Apr 6 2011 // The first part of this article appeared on the IJ’s web site on April 5.PRICE PRESSURE Earthquakes may not be linked to each other, but they are linked to the financial markets, as anyone who has invested in insurers...

Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part I

Apr 5 2011 // Michael Korn is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering what he does for a living and where he lives. Korn is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco.“We’re...