Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Rules Army Corps Not Responsible for Harvey Flooding Damage
Feb 21 2020 // A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers isn’t liable to damage to thousands of Houston homes that were inundated by two federally owned reservoirs in the days following Hurricane Harvey because...
Suit Against Army Corps for Post-Harvey Flooding Dismissed by Federal Judge
Feb 20 2020 // A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers isn’t liable for flood damage to thousands of Houston homes after the agency cracked open the gates on two massive dams in the wake of Hurricane...
Report: 2019 Was 7th Year in Last Decade with 10 or More Disasters of $1B-Plus
Feb 12 2020 // Last year was a particularly hazardous one, with natural catastrophes causing excessive damages in what appears to be an ongoing trend of higher losses in the past decade, while also posing a danger in many U.S....
Storm Ciara Batters Europe with Hurricane-Force Winds, Killing at Least 5 People
Feb 11 2020 // A strong winter storm that has battered Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains and killed at least five people moved eastward Monday, causing severe travel disruptions across the continent. After striking...
AM Best: Florida Insurers Brace for Challenging June Reinsurance Renewals
Feb 11 2020 // Although the 2019 hurricane season did not have a significant impact on Florida, loss creep from prior storms continues to weigh on reinsurers, leading to a likely rise in rates for the upcoming June renewal period. As...
A Tale of Two Californias: Managing Wildfire Risk in the Year 2030
Feb 6 2020 // For most of the 20th century, the insurance industry considered wildfires to be little more than a benign nuisance. They occurred frequently but rarely resulted in more than a handful of claims, and underwriters priced for...
Commentary: It’s Time to Reform the Florida Cat Fund, Give Consumers Rate Relief
Feb 5 2020 // Floridians currently pay the highest homeowner’s insurance rates in the nation, and no one should be surprised by this. Florida is a long relatively narrow large peninsula jutting out into bodies of warm water prone...
Crews Removing Overturned Cargo Ship in Georgia Port Rush to Beat Hurricane Season
Feb 4 2020 // The salvage team in charge of removing a cargo ship that overturned on the Georgia coast nearly five months ago wants to surround it with a giant mesh screen to contain any loose debris as the vessel gets cut into...
2019 Natural Hazard Report Highlights Long Tail of Financial Recovery
Feb 4 2020 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Preparing for a catastrophe is a science. This science involves models built from data and analytics that can capture the worst-case scenario for businesses and...
Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Hurricane Irma Disaster Assistance Fraud
Jan 31 2020 // A Florida woman has pleaded guilty to lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Deannajo White, 39, pleaded guilty in Jacksonville federal court Friday to one count of disaster assistance fraud, according to court...
Florida Man Accused of Making Fraudulent Hurricane Irma Claims
Jan 27 2020 // A Florida man has been accused of lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma, federal prosecutors announced this week. An indictment was returned charging Deontre Javan Taylor, 26, of Jacksonville, with disaster...
How Parametric Insurance Can Help Fill the Gap Where Traditional Insurance Falls Short
Jan 27 2020 // Although parametric solutions have been generally available since the late 1990s, they have more recently found their way into corporate insurance. Parametric insurance solutions offer a means to guarantee direct payout...
North Carolina Awarded $281M for Hurricane Damage by Army Corps
Jan 22 2020 // The Army Corps of Engineers will award $281 million to a North Carolina city and county heavily impacted by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. The Corps will release $237 million to Surf City/ North Topsail Beach and $44.5...
Feds Charge 2 Florida Women with Hurricane Irma Disaster Assistance Fraud
Jan 21 2020 // Two Florida women have been accused of lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma in separate cases, federal prosecutors announced last week. Indictments were returned charging Bernita Willette Carswell, 36, of...
Hurricane Dorian’s Bahamas Storm Toll: $3.4 Billion in Damages, 3 Years of Rebuilding
Jan 17 2020 // The Bahamas may need to tap international debt markets as it confronts the steep cost of recovering from the most destructive hurricane ever to hit the islands. The government will probably borrow about $500 million in...
Florida Legislative Session 2020: Insurance Bills to Watch
Jan 16 2020 // The Florida insurance industry will be focused on several key issues this session, including reform for auto glass (windshield) assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse, reforms to the state’s legal system, as well as...
More Than a Dozen Florida Insurers Facing Ratings Downgrades
Jan 9 2020 // The rating agency responsible for assigning financial stability ratings (FSR) to more than 40 Florida domestic insurers has warned that several carriers will receive downgrades due to deteriorating conditions in the...
Natural Catastrophes Cost $150B in 2019, with Insurers Paying $52B: Munich Re
Jan 8 2020 // Natural catastrophes caused overall losses of US$150 billion during 2019, including insured losses of about US$52 billion, which matches the average of the past 30 years, according to Munich Re’s catastrophe...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 Southeast Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It was a relatively quiet year for the Southeast in terms of major catastrophes compared with 2018 when Hurricane’s Michael and Florence caused major damage in the region. This year, Hurricane Dorian sideswiped the...
