Earthquakes News

AXIS Puts Q2 Cat Losses at $90-$105 Million; Updates Q1 Estimates

Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has estimated that the total net financial impact of the June 2011 aftershock in New Zealand and the series of severe weather events that occurred in the U.S. in April and May 2011 are expected …

Small Earthquake Felt in Eastern Maine

A small earthquake across Maine’s Blue Hill peninsula prompted a handful of calls to law enforcement officials, but no damages were reported. According to the Weston Observatory at Boston College, the magnitude 2.3 quake happened at 5:23 a.m. Thursday and …

Aon Benfield Cat Recap Highlights China Floods; Quakes, Wildfires

Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., has released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during June. Published by Impact Forecasting, the firm’s …

New Zealand Quakes Drive Insurance Market Changes

A string of earthquakes in New Zealand is sending tremors through the global insurance market with some companies delaying underwriting policies and others turning to capital markets to offset the risk of pile-on damage and costly claims. “Although there has …

Marsh Launches Index-Based Insurance Option for Earthquake, Windstorm Risks

Marsh now offers an option for organizations with significant earthquake and/or windstorm exposures that are unable to purchase enough insurance to adequately protect their assets. The new program is called Country Weighted Industry Loss (CWIL). Originally developed in 2010 by …

Lloyd’s Estimates Losses from Q1 Disasters at $3.8 Billion

After careful calculation Lloyd’s has announced its estimated net claims before tax from the earthquakes this year in Japan and New Zealand and the January 2011 floods in Australia. The current net estimates were given as follows: US$ 1.95 billion …

Distant Earthquakes Can Affect San Andreas Fault

Researchers examining the San Andreas Fault in central California have found evidence that distant earthquakes can trigger episodes of accelerated — but still very slow — slip motion, deep on the fault. While a sudden slip on a fault generates …

Transatlantic Holdings Estimates Q1 Cat Losses at $355 Million

Transatlantic Holdings (TRH) announced that it expects to incur total net catastrophe costs (net of reinstatement premiums and reinsurance) in the first quarter of 2011 of approximately $355 million, net of tax, based on its preliminary assessment of the impact …

New Zealand to Back Insurer AMI Despite Budget Pain

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 English said on Thursday. English said the potential cost for the government …

Aon Benfield Launches Cyprus Earthquake Model

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 of seismic risk in the region.” Aon said its …