Most Popular Natural Disasters Headlines This Year

The most viewed headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page over the last year.

#1 Will California’s FAIR Plan Have Enough Cash for Its Wildfire Claims?

Jan 16 2025 // There has been some question about whether California’s insurer of last resort – the FAIR Plan – has enough cash on hand to pay for its share of wildfire claims. As surplus is inadequate and reinsurance has a...

#2 Update: Re/Insurer Losses From LA Wildfires Expected to Be Significant but Manageable

Jan 10 2025 // Insurers are facing significant losses from the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires — given the high value of homes and businesses in the affected communities. However, those losses are likely to be manageable for...

#3 Update: LA Wildfire Insurance-Loss Estimates Approach $40 Billion

Jan 14 2025 // The cost of wildfires ravaging swaths of Los Angeles keeps rising, with new estimates of the total losses for the insurance industry now seen as high as $40 billion.The fresh figure Jan. 14 from Keefe Bruyette & Woods...

#4 Update: FEMA to Borrow $2B to Pay Flood Claims After Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Feb 13 2025 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needs to borrow $2 billion from the U.S. Treasury to cover claims from National Flood Insurance Program policyholders.FEMA, administrator of NFIP, said it expects to pay out...

#5 California Wildfires Will Likely Lead to Large Economic and Insured Losses

Jan 8 2025 // Active wind-driven wildfires in Southern California that are estimated to have burned more than 1,000 properties and prompted evacuation orders for more than 80,000 residents will likely lead to what industry watchers say...

#6 Insurance Payouts at $4 Billion and Counting for LA Wildfires

Jan 30 2025 // Preliminary data show insurance companies have paid out more than $4 billion for losses from the biggest two of the Los Angeles-area wildfires that swept through the region and destroyed tens of thousands of homes earlier...

#7 USAA Becomes 3rd Insurer to Report $1B-Plus in Claims So Far for LA Wildfires

Feb 5 2025 // USAA has paid out more than $1 billion for the Los Angeles wildfires, making it the third insurer to report $1 billion or more in payouts for the destructive blazes that burned thousands of properties.The company, which is...

#8 Insured Losses From Los Angeles Wildfires Rising: $8B to $20B

Jan 9 2025 // Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new AccuWeather total loss estimates.With aerial firefighting returning as strong Southern California winds died down for a bit, damage assessments from a handful of...

#9 Update: Beryl Rakes Mexico’s Yucatan With Hurricane Winds and Heavy Rain

Jul 5 2024 // Hurricane Beryl pummeled Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with tree-toppling gusts and flooding rains, weakening slightly as it came ashore after leaving a trail of destruction through the Caribbean this week.Beryl’s...

#10 Potent Hurricane Weather Pattern Continues to Take Shape, Forecaster Says

Jun 17 2024 // The hurricane season continues to look like it will be a highly active one, as a potent and portentous weather pattern continues to take shape, an AccuWeather meteorologist told Claims Journal on Friday.“It certainly...

#11 Miss. Supreme Court Orders USAA to Pay $15M in Hurricane Katrina Bad-Faith Claim

Dec 9 2024 // When hurricanes hit coastal areas, property insurers often breathe a sigh of relief when much of the damage appears to be the result of storm surge and flooding – losses that aren’t covered by most...

#12 Growing Southern California Wildfire Threatening 4,100 Structures

Jul 15 2024 // Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for roughly 4,200 people due to a growing wildfire in southern California that is threatening 4,100 structures.The Shelly Fire in Siskiyou County is now 15,232 acres and is 3%...

#13 California Approves FAIR Plan Request to Assess Insurers $1B for Wildfire Claims

Feb 11 2025 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved a California FAIR Plan request for a $1 billion assessment on admitted market insurers to cover claims from the Los Angeles wildfires.The FAIR Plan reported it has...

#14 Growing Concerns About Wildfires in Carolina Thanks to Kindling Left by Helene

Jan 22 2025 // As southern California continues to suffer from wildfires, officials in another part of the country fear their area could be next – thanks to tons of dry wood left over from Hurricane Helene’s wind and...

#15 California Policyholders May Be On the Hook for Wildfire Losses

Sep 9 2024 // California homeowners could be required to pay a surcharge if the state’s insurer of last resort is unable to cover losses from a catastrophic wildfire.The California Department of Insurance sent a bulletin to...

#16 Insured Losses From Natural Disasters Hit $140B as Climate Change ‘Shows Its Claws’

Jan 9 2025 // Insurers saw the third most expensive year for natural catastrophe losses in 2024 – reaching a total of US$140 billion – as climate change “is showing its claws,” according to Munich Re.Overall economic...

#17 LA Wildfires by the Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates

Jan 24 2025 // The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses and damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying...

#18 LA Neighbors See Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis

Feb 7 2025 // Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses.“I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has...

#19 Major Florida Citrus Grower to End Operations After Years of Hurricanes and Blight

Jan 9 2025 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A major grower said this week it is abandoning its citrus growing operations, reflecting the headwinds Florida’s signature crops are facing following a series of hurricanes and tree...

#20 After Tens of Billions in Insured Losses, Record-Breaking Hurricane Season Ends

Nov 27 2024 // The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30 after 18 named storms including the earliest Category 5 storm on record, and possibly one of the costliest hurricanes to the insurance industry.Of the 18 named storms, 11...