Last year, the U.S. was subject to an unnaturally active tornado season. The season spawned outbreaks of violent windstorms and powerful tornados that cut a path of destruction through much of the mid and mid-eastern states. Last year saw a total of 1,709 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. While this is well short of the 1,817 that formed in 2004, these tornados were far more destructive and widespread. Indeed, 2011 was one of the most disastrous years in recent history, so much such that the insurance industry was hoping…
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Maryland court sides with Allstate’s decision to not write new policies for coastal properties
Maryland’s highest court has sided with Allstate this week in a case regarding the insurer’s move to stop writing new homeowners policies in coastal regions. The case emerged in 2007 when the insurer chose to step away from the coastal market due to the potential for natural disasters. The insurer’s move was spurred by a catastrophe model that suggested that losses in these regions as a result to hurricanes or other storms could be gargantuan. The Maryland Court of Appeals chose to uphold the rulings of lower courts, agreeing that…
Read MoreFlorida catastrophe fund faces major financial deficit
Florida’s hurricane fund is facing a major financial shortfall, according to Jack Nicholson, chief operating officer of the fund. The fund, which was established in the wake of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, provides money to insurance companies in order to help those displaced by natural disasters. Nicholson issued a warning to state legislators this week that noted that the fund faces a $3.2 billion deficit and will not be able to offer aid in the event of a major storm for the immediate future. This year, the fund has provided insurers…
Read MoreChubb Corp. reports losses verging on $500 million from natural disasters in the third quarter
The Chubb Corporation, a massive property insurance organization, has had a difficult time recovering from recent storms in the U.S. The occurrence of natural disasters in the U.S. has been unusually high this year, and the damage caused by these storms has been unprecedented. The storms have imposed gargantuan financial losses on the insurance industry and many companies are still sifting through claims from earlier in the year that are adding to total losses. Chubb officials have warned investors that the company’s third quarter losses may end up being higher…
Read MoreTyphoon Roke Moves Offshore after Passing Near Tokyo And Bringing Heavy Rainfall
BOSTON, Sept. 21, 2011-According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, after crossing over more than 350 kilometers of the main Japanese island of Honshu,Typhoon Roke, the 15th named storm of the 2011 Northwest Pacific typhoon season, has moved out to sea and is currently headed toward the Kuril Islands, northeast of Hokaido. Roke passed to the west of Tokyo early yesterday evening local time. “Roke made landfall about 250 kilometers southwest of Tokyo in Shizuoka Prefecture near Hamamatsu City at about 2:00 pm local time,” said Dr. Peter Sousounis, principal…
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