Meteor Blast Impacts Russia: AIR Worldwide

Russia Meteor

According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, on Friday, February 15, a meteor exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk (population: 1 million) in Russia’s central Ural Mountains, injuring hundreds and causing damage to buildings in six cities. According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the massive meteor weighed 10 tons and entered the earth’s atmosphere at a speed as high as 33,000 mph. Most of the damage was caused by the shock waves as the meteor broke up in the atmosphere. The force of the explosion was enough to shatter…

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Aon releases new edition of Global Catastrophe Recap report

U.S. industry holds on to hope for a more peaceful 2012 Following the disastrous 2011, U.S. insurers had hoped that 2012 would be a lenient year in terms of natural catastrophes. These hopes were dashed when 2012 hosted a series of unfortunate events in its early months. These disasters made headline throughout the world of insurance news and put the industry on notice. The early months brought many powerful storms that caused widespread damages, mostly in the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. In April, these storms proved particularly devastating. Report shows…

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Insurers pulling out of markets in the wake of natural disasters

The natural disaster rate climbs as industry reevaluates high risk areas. Natural disasters seem to be happening more regularly, a fact that the global insurance industry is becoming uncomfortable with. In terms of insurance, powerful storms and weather-related catastrophes are becoming more commonplace. As such, insurers are feeling the pressure of increased liability and the potential for steep financial losses in the wake of a catastrophic event. There is a strange trend gaining momentum in the industry today, which is spurred by the severity of recent natural disasters. Insurance markets…

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Connecticut looks to strengthen its defense against natural disasters with new legislation

Connecticut’s governor, Dannel Malloy, has announced that he will be introducing new legislation that could establish new performance standards for the state’s utilities companies. These new standards would require utilities companies to adopt more assertive practices in the event of natural disasters and other emergency situations. The recent spate of catastrophes in the U.S. has led to the formation of the legislation, especially as insurers warn that disasters could have significant and long lasting effects on the state’s economy. Hurricane Irene struck the state in April last year, causing significant…

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Insurance rates in Missouri to rise after troublesome year of natural disasters.

Missouri residents can expect to see higher rates for their homeowners insurance in the coming months thanks to the major disaster that struck the town of Joplin early last year. On May 22, 2011, a massive tornado rolled through Joplin, causing unprecedented damage throughout the town causing many businesses to shut down and leaving nearly a third of the town uninhabitable. The tornado cost the state millions of dollars in insured losses, and now insurers are looking to recovery some of that money. Several insurers have proposed rate hikes between…

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