As it girds for hurricane season, Texas has plenty to worry about. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) – which provides coverage for high risk coastal properties – has ended up at the brink of insolvency paying Hurricane Ike claims. …
The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will be fairly average with as many as seven hurricanes expected to form, U.S. government forecasters predicted Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast nine to 14 named storms this season, with four to …
Fitch Ratings agency is advising that the Florida property insurance market is “fragile” and remains a “peak risk zone.” The Florida assessment is included in a Fitch report for investors right before the 2009 hurricane season starts and right after …
Private forecaster AccuWeather.com has cut its forecast for this year’s Atlantic Hurricane season, which begins June 1, to 10 named storms from the 12 it predicted in March. AccuWeather forecast six of the storms will be hurricanes, down from eight …
People living in hurricane danger zones could have a long wait — as much as 10 years — for improved forecasts of rapid intensity changes in a hurricane, the top U.S. hurricane forecaster said recently. In the past 15 years, …
Demand for disaster derivatives is surging as insurers seek alternatives to scarce reinsurance and expensive catastrophe bonds, with the forthcoming North Atlantic hurricane season likely to give a further boost. Prices are at record levels for Industry Loss Warranties (ILWs) …
The state is giving Virginia residents an incentive to prepare for hurricane season. Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday begins May 25 and runs through May 31. During the weeklong holiday, state and local sales taxes won’t be collected on …
Managing general agents have a positive attitude about the soft market and recession, figuring what went down must come up again, according to Curtis Anderson, incoming president of the Association of Managing General Agencies (AAMGA). Most MGAs are doing fine …
Colorado State University hurricane forecaster Bill Gray said Wednesday he may reduce his next Atlantic season forecast because sea temperatures are cooling and a weak El Nino may appear by late summer. “Things are looking better and better for fewer …
Tropical storms are unpredictable, but as the National Hurricane Center’s director contemplates ways to improve forecasting errors and communicating with the public, he is confident he has an ally at the Federal Emergency management Agency (FEMA). Bill Read celebrated the …
