Hurricane Season News

Texas Enacts Windstorm Insurance Reforms; Will They Be Enough?

During the recently completed 81st Legislative Session, the Texas legislature adopted the most significant reforms to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) since 1997 with the passage of House Bill 4409 (HB 4409). This legislative reform was forced upon legislators …

Researchers Hope to Improve Hurricane Prediction

They’re deceptively simple looking detectors: one an antenna with built-in GPS; the other electronic sensors inside what looks like — and in fact, is — a large, upside-down metal salad bowl. The sensors are the basis of a Los Alamos …

IPC Sale to Validus Includes ‘Storm-proof’ Agreement

IPC Holdings, the Bermuda catastrophe reinsurer that attracted interest from more than a dozen bidders, held out for a storm-proof agreement before agreeing to a sale to rival Validus Holdings The $1.65 billion cash-and-stock deal, still to be approved by …

Web Site Estimates Damages If Old Hurricanes Were to Return Today

This month marks the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the panhandle of Florida with sustained winds of 120 m.p.h. While Dennis inflicted more than $2.2 billion in damage in 2005 in what was …

Web Site Estimates Damages if Old Storms Returned Today

This month marks the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the panhandle of Florida with sustained winds of 120 m.p.h. While Dennis inflicted more than $2.2 billion in damage in 2005 in what was …

Ratings: Ocaso, HSB Engineering, Accident & General, Consumer Services, Royal Bank of Canada

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Spain’s Ocaso, S.A. Seguros y Reaseguros, both with stable outlooks. “The ratings reflect the company’s superior risk-based capitalization, excellent operating …

S&P Raises Validus Outlook to ‘Positive;’ IPC Outlook Stays Negative

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company Validus Holdings Ltd. to positive from stable, and has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit rating on the holding company. However, in a separate bulletin …

Hannover Re’s Diversity Plan Set to Boost Shares; Weather Worries

The short-term success of Hannover Re’s bid to diversify away from risky businesses is hostage to the hurricane season, while further out, it is likely to lead to a positive re-rating of the shares. The world’s fourth-biggest reinsurer’s new chief …

Legislation to Extend National Flood Program Introduced into Congress

Legislation that would temporarily extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until March 31, 2010, was introduced into Congress yesterday. House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced the extension bill, which …

Web Site Estimates Hurricane Damages If Old Storms Returned Today

Today marks the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the panhandle of Florida with sustained winds of 120 m.p.h. While Dennis inflicted more than $2.2 billion in damage in 2005 and was the first …