Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

People Moves: Childs to Retire as Chair of Hiscox; Optio Taps Munich Re’s Kennett as UK Head of Political Risk & Terrorism; Conduit Re Names BMS Re’s Binetti to Lead Casualty

Mar 8 2023 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Hiscox, Optio Group and Conduit Re.A summary of these new hires follows here. Childs to Retire as Chair of Hiscox BoardHiscox Ltd., the international...

Cyclone Freddy Sets New Record as World’s Longest-Lasting Tropical Storm

Mar 8 2023 // A tropical cyclone churning off the coast of Madagascar and expected to make landfall for a second time in Mozambique on Saturday — packing winds of as much as 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour — appears to have...

SoCal Storms, Back-to-Back Hurricanes in South Central Part of New Normal?

Mar 2 2023 // A new AM Best commentary on the latest winter storm to hit Southern California drives home the growing risk and the financial volatility that weather-related losses pose for the insurance industry.According to the...

Study Says Back-to-Back Hurricanes Likely to Come More Often

Feb 28 2023 // What used to be a rare one-two punch of consecutive hurricanes hitting about the same place in the United States weeks apart seems to be happening more often, and a new study says climate change will make back-to-back...

La. Judge Mulling Further Sanctions Against Hurricane Damage Law Firm

Feb 27 2023 // A federal judge in New Orleans has called owners of McClenny Moseley & Associates back into his courtroom again, this time to decide if the law firm should be sanctioned — and if so, how much — for making...

Hurricanes Moving Farther North to Pummel Millions More Homes in US

Feb 27 2023 // Is it possible to predict exactly where the wind will blow? How about where it will blow 30 years from now?The First Street Foundation, a nonprofit that works to define and communicate risks posed by climate change, says...

Florida Nursing Home Operator Acquitted of Causing Patient Deaths in Hurricane Irma

Feb 27 2023 // A judge on Friday acquitted a Florida nursing home administrator accused of causing the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017, saying that his employees had provided care and prosecutors had not...

Florida’s Universal Insurance Bounces Back in Q4 After Hurricane Ian Losses

Feb 27 2023 // Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (UVE), parent company of Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., last week reported net income of $25.1 million in its fourth quarter, a sharp increase from the previous...

Chile Finalizes Major Earthquake Insurance With World Bank

Feb 24 2023 // Chile is finalizing a deal with the World Bank for insurance against high-intensity earthquakes that would impact the country’s fiscal policy and public debt, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.“The...

Thunderstorms, Possible Tornadoes Ravage Central New Jersey

Feb 23 2023 // After a rare tornado warning was issued Tuesday, a strong line of thunderstorms ripped through central New Jersey with powerful winds that caused many trees to be ripped out of the ground in Pennington and West Windsor....

California Wildfire Innovation Fund Getting $25M Boost

Feb 23 2023 // A California fund to encourage wildfire innovation and lower the severity and frequency of catastrophic wildfire is getting a $25 million boost.Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA Insurance Group made a $25 million commitment...

New Mexico Law Signed to Help Wildfire, Flooding Recovery

Feb 22 2023 // New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed to use zero-interest loans to help local governments in the arid, Southwest state repair or replace public infrastructure damaged by wildfires or subsequent flooding.The law...

People Moves: Swiss Re Promotes Ningen to CEO, US P&C Re; MS Reinsurance Hires 4 for Data, Underwriting; Aon Promotes Day, Dickson in Political Violence & Terrorism Team

Feb 22 2023 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Swiss Re, MS Reinsurance, and Aon.A summary of these new hires follows here. Swiss Re Promotes Ningen to CEO, US P&C ReMonica Ningen has been named CEO...

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Accuses Hurricane Claim Law Firm of Fraud

Feb 21 2023 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced Friday that his department issued a cease-and-desist order to McClenny, Moseley & Associates, a Houston-based law firm that filed more than 1,500 hurricane-damage...

California Earthquake False Alarm Offers a Lesson for Crisis Communicators

Feb 20 2023 // An earthquake false alarm nearly four years ago can teach disaster and emergency planners – and any crisis communicators, including insurers – a thing or two about communicating to the public during and...

Turkey Earthquakes to Cost Insurers $2.4 Billion: Karen Clark & Co.

Feb 16 2023 // Catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. (KCC) said on Thursday it expects insured losses of $2.4 billion from the devastating dual Kahramanmaras earthquakes that hit Turkey earlier this month.The number of people...

Turkey Needs to Build Million Homes After Earthquakes, Developer Says

Feb 16 2023 // Turkey would need to construct about a million new homes in the 10 provinces hit by the February 6 earthquakes, according to a property developer, signaling the massive rebuilding effort that needs to be...

Historic Alabama City Facing Long Road to Recovery From Tornado

Feb 16 2023 // In a Selma neighborhood — a few blocks from the starting point of the 1965 voting rights marches — the path of a January tornado remains clear.Homes sit collapsed or missing walls and roofs. Some building are...

Earthquakes in Turkey to Cost Insurers More Than $1 Billion, Verisk Estimates

Feb 14 2023 // Economic losses for the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in Turkey will likely exceed US$20 billion, while insured losses will likely be more than US$1 billion, according to Extreme Event Solutions at Verisk (formerly AIR...

Southern California Edison Sued by City for Damaging Wildfire

Feb 13 2023 // A city claims in a lawsuit that Southern California Edison equipment ignited a damaging wildfire last fall.The lawsuit filed on behalf of the city of Hemet claims that the utility did not manage its electrical power lines...