2016 catastrophes News

Update: German Flood Claims Estimated at $1.1B, Says Fitch Ratings

Insurers will face higher-than-expected claims related to floods in Germany, according to Fitch Ratings, dealing another blow to an industry squeezed by low interest rates and decreasing prices for policies. Claims linked to torrential rain, thunderstorms and floods that hit …

Australia’s Storms Estimated to Cost Insurers $28 Million: Insurance Council

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an insurance catastrophe after the storms that pounded the east coast of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) over the weekend. By Monday, June 6, insurers had received more than 11,150 claims …

Insured Losses from French Floods May Total $682M: Industry Association AFA

Insurance executives meet with government officials in Paris Monday to assess the cost of flooding in the Centre and Ile-de-France regions as the Seine river recedes from its highest levels in more than three decades. The river flowing through the …

Torrential Rain Triggers Floods in France; Seine Rises to Highest Level in 34 Years

Paris’s Seine River rose to its highest level in more than 34 years, disrupting train traffic and prompting the Louvre museum to shut to move some its artwork from flood-prone storage areas. As torrential rains lashed France over the last …

Update: Flash Floods Hit SE Germany, Killing at Least 8; AIR Worldwide Comments

Torrential rain, thunderstorms and flash floods that have inundated towns in southeastern Germany in recent days took the death toll to at least eight as forecasters warned of continuing severe weather spreading northward and westward into France. Five people drowned …

Canada ‘Needs to Do More’ to Mitigate Climate Disasters Such as Wildfires, Flood

The Canadian government needs to do more to mitigate climate disasters such as floods and wildfires, a top green watchdog said on Tuesday as the Alberta town of Fort McMurray struggled to recover from a huge inferno. Environment Commissioner Julie …

South Carolina Insurance Head Talks Lessons Learned After Historic Flood

South Carolina’s coastal property insurance market is strong, but the state’s significant catastrophe risk remains an ongoing threat and not one that should be taken lightly. That is the message South Carolina Insurance Director Raymond Farmer hopes to get across …

Canada’s Oil Sands Facilities Prepare to Restart as Wildfires Begin to Slow

All of the Canadian oil-sands facilities that workers fled last week as a wildfire spread are being allowed to prepare for restart as cool, humid weather has helped contain the inferno. Alberta lifted mandatory evacuation orders for the last of …

Climate Change Will Raise the Cost of Canada’s Natural Disasters: Insurers

Canada will have to set aside more money to deal with natural disasters like wildfires, storms and floods as climate change starts to bite, the head of the country’s property insurance industry group said on Wednesday. A wildfire sweeping through …

Alberta Wildfires Could Cost $7B with Minimal Insurer Credit Hit: Ratings Agencies

The Fort McMurray wildfires, which have been raging through northern Alberta, Canada since May 1, are likely to be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, according to recent reports issued by catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, rating company DBRS …