Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Category 6? As Warming Stokes Storms, Some Want a Bigger Hurricane Category
Feb 7 2024 // A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6. Studies have shown that the strongest...
Chile’s Second-Largest Refinery Shuttered Due to Power Outage Following Wildfires
Feb 5 2024 // The Aconcagua refinery, Chile’s second-largest with a capacity to process 102,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, has been shut down since Friday following a power outage caused by forest fires raging in the country,...
Hedge Funds’ Mega Returns Set Off Demand Spiral for Catastrophe Bonds
Feb 5 2024 // As hedge funds rake in record profits in one of the riskiest corners of the debt market, the products behind those returns are now drawing in more mainstream investors. Catastrophe bonds, which last year formed the basis...
Hub Launches High Net Worth Excess Wildfire Program in California
Feb 5 2024 // HUB International launched a new program to address the need for enhanced wildfire coverage of high value homes that will be offered exclusively by HUB Private Client to address the insurance and risk management needs of...
USGS: Nearly 75% of US Could Experience A Damaging Earthquake
Feb 5 2024 // Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience damaging earthquake shaking, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report shows. A USGS-led team of more than 50 scientists and engineers in the latest USGS National Seismic Hazard Model...
What’s to Come in 2024: Hard Market, AI Expansion, More Catastrophes, Network Consolidation
Feb 5 2024 // No one can predict the future, but insurance professionals are likely the best qualified when it comes to predicting risk. For this special report, Insurance Journal asked industry thought leaders their predictions for the...
Alaska Charter Company Paying $900K for Wildfire From Campfire
Jan 31 2024 // An Alaska fishing guide company has paid $900,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. government alleging one of its guides started a wildfire in 2019, the U.S. attorney’s office for Alaska said in a...
Hawaii Officials Identify Last of 100 Known Victims of Wildfire That Destroyed Lahaina
Jan 30 2024 // The last of the 100 known victims of the wildfire that destroyed Maui’s historic town of Lahaina in August was identified as a 70-year-old woman whose husband, sister and several other relatives also died in the...
Oregon Jury Awards $85 M to 9 Victims of Deadly 2020 Wildfires
Jan 29 2024 // An Oregon jury awarded $85 million to nine victims of wildfires that ravaged the state in 2020, the latest verdict in a series of legal proceedings that are expected to put the utility PacifiCorp on the hook for billions...
Startup AiDash Raises $50M for Tech Using AI, Satellites to Spot Wildfire Risk
Jan 26 2024 // A California startup using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellites to spot fire and weather risks on power lines, AiDash, reported it had raised $50 million in new funding, reflecting Silicon Valley efforts to create...
Colombia Declares National Disaster as Wildfires Spread Through Parched Forests
Jan 26 2024 // Colombia declared a national disaster as wildfires spread through drought-hit forests and filled the capital, Bogota, with smoke. Environmental authorities reported 31 separate blazes on Thursday, after months of hot, dry...
People Moves: Former California Earthquake Authority CEO Pomeroy Joins GeoVera
Jan 26 2024 // Glenn Pomeroy, former CEO of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), joined GeoVera as executive vice president of marketing and regulatory affairs effective February 1. GeoVera is headquartered in Fairfield,...
Fifth Circuit Upholds $502K Award for Louisiana Church in Hurricane Laura Damage Suit
Jan 25 2024 // The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month upheld a 2022 decision against Church Mutual Insurance Co. in favor of Sugartown United Pentecostal Church in Dry Creek, Louisiana, which sits about 50...
Florida to Borrow Billions to Backstop Insurers After Hurricanes
Jan 23 2024 // The state corporation that oversees the Florida Cat Fund is planning to borrow as much as $3.8 billion to ensure the fund has plenty of money on hand to reimburse property insurers for losses when homes are damaged or...
UK Braces for More Hurricane-Strength Winds From Next Atlantic Storm
Jan 23 2024 // Just over a day after Storm Isha started to clear, the UK is bracing for more hurricane-strength winds off the Atlantic. Jocelyn — the 10th named storm of the season to hit the UK — will rip across the north of the...
Hurricane-Force Winds Cause Chaos, Blackouts Across Europe
Jan 22 2024 // Storm Isha is causing travel disruption and power blackouts across northern Europe, as it brought hurricane-force winds to the UK and other parts of the region. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning across the UK...
USGS: Nearly 75% of US Could Experience A Damaging Earthquake
Jan 22 2024 // Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience damaging earthquake shaking, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report shows. A USGS-led team of more than 50 scientists and engineers in the latest USGS National Seismic Hazard Model...
Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk
Jan 22 2024 // For hedge funds, the science of catastrophes helped generate the best returns of any alternative investment strategy last year. The calculus around natural disasters such as hurricanes and cyclones fed record gains at...
Lawsuit Says Compensation Delayed for Victims of Worst Wildfire in New Mexico History
Jan 22 2024 // A new lawsuit has been filed against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, alleging compensation has been delayed for victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history. FEMA is responsible for...
2024 Oregon Consumer Laws Include Protections for Homeowners Dealing with Wildfire
Jan 22 2024 // Consumer protections for homeowners dealing with wildfire-related issues, property contents coverage, personal data protection and prescription drugs are set to go into effect in 2024. The Oregon Division of Financial...
