Earthquakes News

Tennessee Warned to Take Earthquake Threat Seriously

Cities and states have improved their disaster readiness since the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, but authorities must keep stressing emergency preparedness to reduce complacency among the general public, retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said in Memphis Friday. …

Report: U.S. West Coast Not Prepared for Tsunami

A report from the National Academies of Science says the West Coast of the United States remains ill-prepared for a tsunami. The seismologist who led the review of tsunami preparedness says an earthquake on the offshore fault called the subduction …

RMS Releases New Japan Typhoon Parametric Industry Loss Index

Risk Management Solutions has added to its Japan typhoon existing suite of parametric industry loss indices. The program “now includes the insurance industry’s five largest peril regions – U.S. hurricane and earthquake, Europe windstorm, Japan typhoon and earthquake,” said the …

High Value Homeowners Market Healthy Despite Tough Economy

One of the most important features of writing high net worth business is high value homeowner’s coverage — but these policies can be complicated for agents to understand because they have many more components than traditional personal lines homeowner policies. …

It Figures

$100 Million The cost of property damage claims from Tropical Storm Hermine crept toward $100 million as of Sept. 10, 2010, three days after the storm made landfall in northeastern Mexico, and swept through Texas and into Oklahoma. Insurance Council …

Declarations

Interlinked Failures “A complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces came together to allow the initiation and escalation of the accident.” —A report issued by BP Plc failed to identify any …

Willis Research Network to Assess Impact of ‘Extreme Events’

Willis Group Holdings announced that its research network partner (WRN – www.willisresearchnetwork.com), a collaboration between academia, industry and government, “is marshalling the expertise of its international membership base to assess the physical, strategic, operational, and financial risks posed by extreme …

Best Affirms White Mountains, Subsidiaries Ratings; Outlook Stable

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of the U.S. operating companies comprising OneBeacon Insurance Group, and the FSR of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and ICRs of “a-” …

Commercial Program Insurance Services Starts Up in Pasadena

A new managing general agent facility has formed in Pasadena, Calif. Under the leadership of President Robert Markese and Senior Vice President Hal Thompson, the new company — called Commercial Program Insurance Services — will offer specialized programs, commercial general …

RMS Estimates Insured Losses for NZ Quake at $1.5 to $2.5 Billion

Following detailed analysis of property damage from the Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake, Risk Management Solutions said it “estimates that total insured losses will fall between NZD 2.1 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) and NZD 3.5 billion (US$ 2.5 billion).” RMS said …