Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Aon Updates Europe Windstorm, Severe Convective Storm Models
Mar 13 2023 // Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, updated its Impact Forecasting Europe Windstorm and Severe Convective Storm (SCS) catastrophe models to incorporate emissions scenarios that inform current and future...
Swarm of Quakes at Alaska Volcano Could Mean Eruption Coming
Mar 10 2023 // A swarm of earthquakes occurring over the past few weeks has intensified at a remote Alaska volcano dormant for over a century, a possible indication of an impending eruption. The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the...
Turkey’s Southeast Exodus After Deadly Earthquake Puts Manufacturing at Risk
Mar 10 2023 // Mehmet Alkan, a shoe-sole manufacturer in Turkey’s earthquake-hit south, doesn’t know what will become of his company after some of his 220 employees died and half fled, reflecting the difficult transformation...
Louisiana Supreme Court Suspends Hurricane Damage Attorney
Mar 8 2023 // The Louisiana Supreme Court suspended indefinitely the law license of the attorney who manages McClenny Moseley & Associates’ office in New Orleans — the latest setback for a law firm that paid nearly $14...
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 Board Hiscox 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...
As Catastrophic Storm Costs Rise, Could Mandatory Flood Insurance Help?
Mar 6 2023 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Key Takeaways: The rising cost to U.S. taxpayers of more frequent and severe flood damages The problems with the current state of flood insurance in the U.S. Actual and...
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 Re Monica Ningen Monica Ningen...
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...
