Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Conn. Updates Coastal Underwriting Guidelines
Jan 9 2012 // Connecticut insurance department amended its coastal underwriting guidelines last month to clarify when hurricane deductibles can be applied. Regulators have been working on making the changes in the wake of criticisms...
6 Years Later, Katrina Victims Fight FEMA Debts
Dec 30 2011 // When the Federal Emergency Management Agency mailed out 83,000 debt notices this year to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other 2005 storms, one of the letters showed up in David Bellinger’s mailbox. Bellinger, who...
Insurers Worry 2012 Will Top 2011 for Record Weather Disasters
Dec 28 2011 // From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be...
New Orleans Hurricane Wall Creates Prime Fishing Spot
Dec 27 2011 // Anglers in the wetlands surrounding New Orleans never have to look very far to be reminded they are living the ultimate paradox: They are enjoying the nation’s most prolific coastal fishing in the midst of a terminal...
For Florida Gov. Scott, Insurance Fixes Are Legislative Priority
Dec 21 2011 // Gov. Rick Scott wants lawmakers to fix a pair of auto and property insurance issues that are costing Floridians hundreds of millions of dollars but have eluded resolution for more than a decade. The issue facing the...
Louisiana Citizens Owes More than $100M to Policyholders, High Court Says
Dec 20 2011 // Louisiana’s highest court has reinstated a nearly $100 million judgment against the state’s property insurer of last resort in a class action lawsuit stemming from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Louisiana...
Hurricane Forecaster Delays 2012 Prediction Until Spring
Dec 20 2011 // Hurricane forecaster William Gray will wait until spring to predict how many storms will form in the Atlantic. Gray and his research partner at Colorado State University, Philip Klotzbach, usually start making predictions...
Test Your Insurance News Knowledge
Dec 16 2011 // Are you an insurance news hound? Test your insurance news IQ and find out. The following questions and answers (see bottom of the page) were developed based on news stories published on InsuranceJournal.com and...
Corps Says It’s not to Blame for Katrina Flooding
Dec 14 2011 // Justice Department lawyers argued at trial on Dec. 12 that there is little evidence a shipping channel dug decades ago by the Army Corps of Engineers contributed significantly to the castastrophic flooding after Hurricane...
Connecticut Updates Underwriting Guidelines for Hurricane Deductible
Dec 12 2011 // Connecticut insurance department announced that it has updated its coastal underwriting guidelines to clarify when hurricane deductibles can be applied. The hurricane deductible issue has been in the spotlight in wake of...
Post-Irene Rebuilding Could Take Several More Months, N.Y. Group Says
Dec 9 2011 // This year’s hurricane season was an unusually costly and damaging one for New York State residents. And as the winter sets in, it will take several more months for people in areas ranging from Adirondack Mountains to...
Floridians Would Pay More to Shore-Up Cat Fund: Survey
Dec 6 2011 // A new survey finds that 70 percent of Floridians fear being assessed hundreds or thousands of dollars in “hurricane taxes” because the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund may run out of money to pay...
2011 Hurricane Season Spared Usual Targets While Flooding Northeast
Dec 5 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season was a study in contradictions: It spared the usual Southern targets, while Irene paralyzed the Eastern seaboard and devastated parts of the Northeast with deadly flooding. The season...
Active 2011 Hurricane Season Breaks ‘Hurricane Amnesia’
Nov 29 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Wednesday, having produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. This level of activity matched predictions by...
Insured Loss Estimate from Hurricane Irene Rises to $4.3 Billion
Nov 28 2011 // An insurance industry service that tracks catastrophe losses has sharply raised its estimates for August’s Hurricane Irene, projecting insured property damage of $4.3 billion from the first hurricane to hit the...
Florida’s Scott Wants Ideas from Citizens by Dec. 6
Nov 21 2011 // Gov. Rick Scott wants the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to recommend ways to shore up the troubled insurer. Scott, who prefers the insurer be sold to a private company, wants answers from the...
Mass. AG Wants to Put Brakes on ‘Excessive’ Homeowners Insurance Rate
Nov 18 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is urging the State Rating Board to hold a hearing to scrutinize the data insurers use to set homeowners insurance rates in her state. The Attorney General’s office says...
Connecticut Had 58,002 Claims for Irene, With $161M Paid Out So Far
Nov 16 2011 // Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi told a legislative committee that Connecticut saw 58,002 claims for Hurricane Irene. Of those claims, 84.8 percent have been closed (88 percent for homeowners’...
Swiss Re Places $130 Million Cat Bond for Hurricanes, European Wind
Nov 9 2011 // Swiss Re has obtained a further $130 million in protection through the Successor X Ltd. catastrophe bond program, which covers exposures to “North Atlantic hurricane and European windstorm.” Swiss Re noted that...
State Farm and Sen. Blumenthal Debate Hurricane Deductible
Nov 7 2011 // U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently called on State Farm to drop its hurricane deductible for Connecticut residences whose homes were damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. But State Farm shows no sign of giving in...
