Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fortified building standards: Gulf Coast market salvation?
May 7 2007 // Concrete houses sprouting up in southern Alabama, Mississippi and elsewhere in the Gulf Coast region are more than just fortified structures that will protect their owners from up to 250 mph winds and 36 foot storm surges...
Figures
May 7 2007 // $100 Million Insured losses from the storm that spawned tornadoes and large hail over portions of the Dallas – Fort Worth area on April 13, have been set at approximately $100 million, the Insurance Council of Texas...
Weather Report
May 7 2007 // Estimating the potential costs of future weather related events, linked to climate change, is, at best, an inexact science; there are just too many variables. Nonetheless, a picture is emerging that, whatever happens, the...
Total Cost of Risk Continues Downward Trend, RIMS Survey Finds
May 2 2007 // The commercial insurance industry continued to experience an overall decline in total cost of risk in 2006 despite coastal property premium hikes, according to the 2006 Annual Benchmark Survey book from the Risk and...
Fla. Renews Tax Break on Hurricane Prep Items
May 2 2007 // Flashlights, gasoline cans, weather radios and plastic tarps are among the storm preparedness items that will be available tax-free as hurricane season begins. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a bill into law making...
Fla. Senate Says No to Requiring Storm Shutters in High-Risk Areas
May 2 2007 // The Florida Senate has voted against requiring people with houses worth $300,000 or more in much of the state to buy hurricane shutters the next time they make any major home improvement. Critics said too many people...
La. Gov. Pitches $100M Insurance Plan
May 1 2007 // With Louisiana’s hurricane recovery stymied in part by skyrocketing property insurance rates, Gov. Kathleen Blanco has a plan to ease the problem: Offer insurance companies $100 million in incentives. But in an...
R.I. Staging Massive Hurricane Response to Fake Hurricane Yvette
May 1 2007 // Rhode Island is prepping for the worst hurricane to ever crash into New England — on paper at least. About 250 federal emergency management officials plan to stage a response to the fictional “Hurricane...
N.J. Lawmakers Urge Action on Shore Evacuation Plan
May 1 2007 // Some Jersey shore legislators say the formation of a task force meant to make changes to shore-area evacuation routes — for use in the event of a hurricane — needs to be done quickly. On Jan. 30, the state Assembly...
Report: U.S. Turned Away Foreign Aid Offered After Hurricane Katrina
May 1 2007 // In the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, the U.S. government failed to take advantage of millions of dollars in foreign aid from its allies, The Washington Post reported. The U.S. has collected about $126...
Commissioner Urges Floridians to Buy Flood Insurance
Apr 30 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty urged Floridians to purchase flood insurance to protect their homes. McCarty’s warning comes in anticipation of the 2007 hurricane season which officially begins June 1....
RMS, Weatherflow Launch Parametric Capital Market Index
Apr 26 2007 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has teamed up with WeatherFlow Inc., a provider of private weather data, to launch the “WindX(tm) parametric index” (www.windxnetwork.com).” The two companies timed the...
La. Hurricane Safe Rooms Fitted with Pump Automation Systems
Apr 26 2007 // Engineers in Jefferson Parish, La., said recent tests show flood pumps can be turned on automatically by workers holed up in nearby safe rooms during major hurricanes. When a major hurricane threatens the parish, pump...
News Currents
Apr 23 2007 // Insurers fight impression their big profits are at claimants’ expense The headline numbers were eye-popping: Allstate reported a record $5 billion profit for 2006. State Farm Insurance’s profit climbed 65...
Coastal population growth contributing to high cost of property coverage
Apr 23 2007 // The U.S. population in hurricane-prone coastal states continues to rise, a trend that is likely to impact adversely the nation’s coastal property insurance market for years to come, according to Dr. Robert Hartwig,...
Coastline populations increasing insurance prices
Apr 23 2007 // The U.S. population residing in hurricane-prone states continues to rise, a trend which is likely to impact adversely the nation’s coastal property insurance market for years to come, according to testimony by Dr....
Report Details P/C Insurers’ 2006 Proftability, Escape from Storms
Apr 18 2007 // Another report on the insurance industry confirms and details what has been widely acknowledged: a sharp decline in catastrophes in 2006 contributed to improved underwriting results for the year. The U.S. property/casualty...
Alabama Officials Prepare for Hurricane Season
Apr 17 2007 // Alabama Governor Bob Riley and state agency leaders huddled this week to review Alabama’s plans for the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1. The state leaders joined officials from FEMA, the U.S....
Wind or Water? Victims Got Conflicting Info on What Caused Damage
Apr 13 2007 // A man who sued Allstate Insurance Co. after losing his home to Hurricane Katrina lashed out April 11 at the insurance industry’s position that damage from a hurricane’s storm surge is excluded from homeowner...
Is Lack of La. Hospital Evacuation Plan Negligence or Malpractice?
Apr 13 2007 // A question that could shunt hundreds of Hurricane Katrina claims against hospitals away from court, putting them before a state malpractice panel, is up before the Louisiana Supreme Court. The justices heard arguments...
