May 18, 2020
Global insurers are well capitalized to absorb the hit from rising claims and costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, ratings agency AM Best said on Monday, citing a stress test it conducted to gauge the immediate impact of outbreak on …
January 13, 2020
Zurich Insurance Group AG expects to have more power to increase commercial insurance rates than it has seen in almost two decades as a shortage of supply and high natural catastrophe payouts help reverse declining premiums. “The last time this …
January 2, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO — A financial tug-of-war is emerging over the $13.5 billion that the nation’s largest utility has agreed to pay to victims of recent California wildfires, as government agencies jockey for more than half the money to cover the …
September 20, 2019
The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Center has been challenging the ground rules for an insurance industry organization that dispatches pilots to take aerial photographs immediately after natural disasters. Usually, the Geospatial Intelligence Center doesn’t deploy aircraft or staff unless a Category …
March 15, 2019
Newswise — When Hawaiians received a false alarm text message that said “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill,” in January 2018, the result was not panic, according to new research from the …
January 7, 2014
Natural catastrophes like floods and storms claimed more than 20,000 lives and caused around $125 billion in damage worldwide in 2013, well below the average of the last decade, reinsurer Munich Re said on Tuesday. The world’s largest reinsurer said …
May 8, 2013
An earthquake in China and two in Iran dominated global catastrophes in April. Additional earthquakes were recorded in Japan, Afghanistan and Hungary during the month. Parts of the U.S. suffered severe hail and flooding damage during April, although there were …
November 26, 2012
As victims of Superstorm Sandy pick up the pieces of their lives and insurers wade through thousands of claims, industry and public officials are raising concerns about fraud. Since the storm, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has issued two …
October 19, 2011
The day after Hurricane Irene hit, global recovery firm ServiceMaster’s call center averaged 1,100 calls a day but despite the heavy call load, the company was able to respond in a timely fashion—always important with water damage —thanks to a …
September 1, 2011
The tornado that devastated Joplin in May is expected to cost insurance companies about $2.2 billion. Property Claims Services, which determines insurance payouts for catastrophes, said Tuesday that figure includes payouts already made and projected payouts for the May 22 …