Latest Earthquake Headlines
All the headlines from our Earthquake Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tokyo Rethinking Its Earthquake Plan After Japan Disaster
Apr 11 2011 // More than 10,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands injured, nearly one million buildings destroyed, millions forced to evacuate and a fifth of Japan’s economy wiped out. That’s the scenario forecast if a huge...
Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast Coast
Apr 7 2011 // Another Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast Coast A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook the northeast of Japan late on Thursday, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by...
New Zealand to Back Insurer AMI Despite Budget Pain
Apr 7 2011 // New Zealand’s government has agreed to provide financial support for AMI, the country’s second-largest residential insurer, after two major earthquakes threatened to deplete its capital, Finance Minister Bill...
Aon Benfield Launches Cyprus Earthquake Model
Apr 7 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., has launched an earthquake model for the island of Cyprus, following requests from insurers seeking “to increase their understanding...
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part II
Apr 6 2011 // The first part of this article appeared on the IJ’s web site on April 5. PRICE PRESSURE Earthquakes may not be linked to each other, but they are linked to the financial markets, as anyone who has invested in...
Japan Quake Reveals Cracks in Insurance System – Part I
Apr 5 2011 // Michael Korn is a popular person these days, which is perhaps not too surprising considering what he does for a living and where he lives. Korn is an insurance broker in earthquake-prone San Francisco. “We’re...
Amlin Estimates Claims from Q1 Catastrophes
Apr 5 2011 // Specialist insurer Amlin plc has released initial estimates of the impact of the 2011 New Zealand earthquake, the Japanese earthquake and the 2011 Queensland floods. The bulletin described the 2011 New Zealand earthquake...
Crunching Japan’s Disaster Numbers: Final Bill May be Staggering
Apr 4 2011 // Japan’s government expects last month’s earthquake and tsunami to cost up to $300 billion in material damage, but the ultimate cost will be far higher. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), operator of the crippled...
Aon Benfield Report: Despite Catastrophes, Reinsurance Rates Remain Stable
Apr 4 2011 // Aon Benfield’s most recent evaluation of the state of the reinsurance market, as of April 1, concludes that it performed “as intended through recent events,” and that it continues “to provide...
Calif. Senators Introduce National Earthquake Legislation
Apr 4 2011 // U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both D-Calif., introduced legislation to lower the cost of earthquake insurance for Californians and individuals who purchase coverage from a nonprofit, state-run...
Lloyd’s ‘Confident’ It Can Cope with Japan Claims
Mar 30 2011 // The Lloyd’s of London insurance market is confident it can deal easily with claims from Japan’s earthquake even though natural disasters almost halved its profit last year. Lloyd’s said its businesses had...
Cat Bond Investors Braced for Japan Disaster Hit
Mar 30 2011 // The Japanese earthquake is set to be the first natural disaster that triggers a number of catastrophe bonds, surpassing Hurricane Katrina to become the event with the biggest impact on the alternative reinsurance...
2010 Nat Cats, Disasters Cost $218 Bn – $43 Bn Insured; Says Swiss Re
Mar 29 2011 // According to Swiss Re’s latest sigma study, worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $218 billion in 2010, more than triple the 2009 figure of $68 billion. The losses cost the...
S&P Puts Montana Re Cat Bonds on CreditWatch Negative after Japan Quake
Mar 28 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘B- (sf)’ rating on Montana Re Ltd.’s Class E notes on CreditWatch with negative implications. The notes, totaling $210 million, were originally...
S&P: Outlook Negative on 9 Japanese P/C Insurers; Ratings Affirmed
Mar 25 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has conducted a detailed analysis of 15 Japanese P/C insurers, and has made several adjustments in its ratings following the earthquake and tsunami, which hit the country on...
AIG Expects ‘Minimal’ Effects from Japan Claims
Mar 24 2011 // American International Group Inc. said Wednesday it expects “minimal net effects” from the recent earthquake and tsunami on the financial condition of its local Japanese operations, including those of Fuji Fire...
Allianz Nat Cat Analysis: Economic Growth a Major Factor for Increased Losses
Mar 24 2011 // Experts on natural catastrophe risk at Allianz have highlighted the growing trend in insured losses arising from natural catastrophes worldwide in a risk briefing – the “Allianz Risk Pulse: Focus Natural...
Insurer Shares Relatively Unaffected by Japan Damage Estimates
Mar 23 2011 // Insurer shares largely shrugged off the industry’s first round of damage estimates from this month’s earthquake in Japan, which may prove to be the world’s costliest disaster. Munich Re and Hannover Re,...
Munich Re Estimates Japan Quake, Tsunami Claims over $2 Billion
Mar 23 2011 // Munich Re announced that it has estimated its claims burden from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan at around €1.5 billion [$2.128 billion], after retrocession and before tax. As a result Munich Re said its...
Platinum Estimates NZ Quake, Aus. Flood Losses at $160 Million; Assessing Japan
Mar 23 2011 // Bermuda-based Platinum Underwriters Holdings has announced that it currently expects the 2011 Australian floods and Cyclone Yasi and the 2011 New Zealand earthquake will “have a net negative impact of approximately...
