Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wildfire Threatens Homes, Cabins Near Lake in Idaho
Sep 7 2022 // Roughly 200 people were told to evacuate and sheriff’s deputies were trying to track down campers and other recreationists after a wildfire exploded in Idaho’s scenic Sawtooth National Forest over the long...
China Reopens Roads to Earthquake Epicenter, as Death Toll Rises
Sep 7 2022 // China has reopened roads leading to the epicenter of Monday’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan and traffic has resumed, state media reported on Wednesday, while the death toll has...
Typhoon Hinnamnor Rips Across South Korea’s Industrial Region, Killing at Least 2
Sep 6 2022 // A powerful typhoon tore through South Korea’s southern industrial hubs on Tuesday, leaving at least two people dead, 10 missing and thousands displaced, authorities said. Typhoon Hinnamnor left the Korean peninsula...
Round out a home’s protection with a new “stand-alone” earthquake option for Independent Agents in WA & OR
Sep 6 2022 // MILL CREEK, WA, September 6, 2022 — Pacific International Underwriters® (PIU) is partnering with American Modern® to offer a standalone earthquake insurance policy in Washington & Oregon. “One of the...
S. Korea Braces for Strongest Typhoon in Nation’s History With Major Damage Expected
Sep 2 2022 // South Korea is bracing for the strongest storm in the nation’s history with Super Typhoon Hinnamnor forecast to hammer its southern coastal areas next week. The worst of the typhoon is forecast Monday or Tuesday when...
California Wildfires Lead to Evacuations Amid Heat Wave
Sep 1 2022 // California wildfires erupted Wednesday in rural areas, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting evacuations as the state sweltered under a heat wave that could last through Labor Day. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state...
Reinsurers Adopt Divergent Strategies About Natural Catastrophe Exposures: S&P
Aug 31 2022 // The natural catastrophe business of global reinsurers has been reshaped by five years of higher-than-expected losses, which is leading reinsurers to adopt divergent strategies – either diving in to write more business at...
Oregon Wildfire Threatening over 7,000 Structures
Aug 31 2022 // The Rum Creek Fire in remote southwest Oregon has burned nearly 18.75 square miles is threatening thousands of homes and is only about 1% contained. As of Tuesday morning, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said...
Hurricane Alley Hasn’t Been This Quiet in a Quarter Century
Aug 30 2022 // The Atlantic crucible of hurricanes hasn’t had a storm all month and if the calm holds it will stand as the quietest August in 25 years. The expanse of ocean between Africa and the Caribbean Sea has only had two...
Viewpoint: Can the Florida Insurance Market Withstand Another Hurricane Andrew?
Aug 29 2022 // The wide-ranging impact of Hurricane Andrew on the Florida insurance market is a familiar story within the risk management world. However, 30 years on from August 24, 1992, when Andrew made landfall in Dade County,...
Deaths From Pakistan Floods Top 1,000 in ‘Climate Catastrophe’
Aug 29 2022 // ISLAMABAD (AP) – Deaths from widespread flooding in Pakistan topped 1,000 since mid-June, officials said Sunday, as the country’s climate minister called the deadly monsoon season “a serious climate...
TDI Orders Emergency Rule Protecting Weston Policyholders During Hurricane Season
Aug 26 2022 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announced an emergency rule this week removing barriers for Weston Property & Casualty Insurance Company policyholders to receive wind and hail coverage through the Texas...
Record-Setting Wildfire in New Mexico Declared Contained
Aug 25 2022 // More than four grueling months and $300 million later, the federal government has declared the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history 100% contained, a notable milestone but just another step in what local...
State Farm to Pay $100 Million to Federal Government for Hurricane Katrina Claims
Aug 25 2022 // State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. and two former claims-adjuster sisters, who more than 16 years ago filed a lawsuit claiming the insurer committed fraud against the government’s National Flood Insurance Program...
Lawsuit Says Electrical Equipment Sparked Deadly California Wildfire
Aug 25 2022 // The daughter of a 76-year-old man killed last month when California’s deadliest wildfire so far this year swept through a remote town has sued a public utility, alleging its electrical equipment sparked the...
Rising Premiums, Low Catastrophe Losses Boost U.S., Bermuda Reinsurers’ H1 Profits
Aug 24 2022 // U.S. and Bermuda reinsurers reported strong operating performance for the first six months of 2022, supported by continued pricing increases in most reinsurance and specialty lines of business as well as tighter terms and...
Tropical Storm Ma-on Takes Aim at Hong Kong, Guangdong Province
Aug 24 2022 // Several cities in southern China raised their cyclone warning signals on Wednesday, bracing for Tropical Storm Ma-on, which is expected to make landfall along the coast of Guangdong province on Thursday. At 12:40 p.m....
Berkshire Unit Sued Over California’s Largest Wildfire of Season
Aug 22 2022 // A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unit was sued for allegedly causing California’s largest wildfire of the year, which killed four people and destroyed almost 200 structures near the Oregon border. The complaint against...
Round out a home’s protection with a new “stand-alone” earthquake option for Independent Agents in WA & OR
Aug 22 2022 // MILL CREEK, WA, August 22, 2022 — Pacific International Underwriters® (PIU) is partnering with American Modern® to offer a standalone earthquake insurance policy in Washington & Oregon. “One of the advantages...
Lloyd’s Insurers Must Exclude Catastrophic State-Backed Cyber-Attacks
Aug 19 2022 // Lloyd’s insurers must exclude state-backed cyber-attacks in standalone (or affirmative) cyber policies if they reach a catastrophic threshold, according to a Lloyd’s market bulletin issued this week. However,...
