Climate Change

• 

  Eqecat: Up to $5B in Insured Losses from Recent Tornado Activity

  By Phil Gusman, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 24, 2013

  The storm system that produced deadly tornadoes this past week, including the one that leveled Moore, Okla., is expected to cause between $2 billion and $5 billion in insured property losses, according to catastrophe modeler Eqecat.

• NRDC: Insurers Running from Climate-Change Risks; Insurer Group Disputes Figures

  By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360  |  May 23, 2013

  The National Resources Defense Council says private insurers are turning away from climate-change risks, sending an “unmistakeable signal” that such risks are increasing and that costs to society are climbing, but an insurance industry association disputed some of the figures used to arrive at that assumption.

• 

  Crop of Controversy

  By Claire Schuster, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  May 1, 2013

  A relentless drought, tenacious wildfires, extreme weather—over the past year, all of these have plagued the U.S. agricultural business, leading to lingering uncertainty for farmers and the agents and brokers that serve them.

• 

  After Sandy, After Boston, After 9/11—Still Recovering

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360  |  April 29, 2013

  Six months after Sandy, it's clear that we don't just need better claims. We need better risk financing.

• 

  Sandy Shook the Earth, Helping Scientists Study Crust and Upper Mantle

  By Staff Writer  |  April 19, 2013

  Before Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey and New York, the storm made a turn to the northwest toward land, rattling the ocean floor and setting off seismometers across the U.S., according to University of Utah researchers.

• 

  6 Months Later: Agents Tell Tales of Sandy

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360  |  April 10, 2013

  Many insurance agents faced the same issues as their clients in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, but they all shared an additional responsibility: to make themselves available to the victims of the storm.

• Experts Predict A Smoke-Filled 2013 Wildfire Season

  By Christina Bramlet, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  April 4, 2013

  It's still early, but experts are predicting an active wildfire season, especially in parched Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and California.

• Ceres: Insurers Acknowledge Climate Change, but Are Not Prepared for Threats

  By Anya Khalamayzer, PropertyCasualty360  |  March 29, 2013

  Insurers across all sectors are acknowledging the impact of climate change on their business, but they are failing to engage in discussions about how to stay ahead of the potential threats, a new preparedness study says.

• On Climate Change, a ‘Do-Nothing’ Strategy is Not Risk-Free

  By Evan Mills  |  March 29, 2013

  Whatever insurers may think about the presence or causes of climate change, one thing is certain: The business climate is changing rapidly.

• Researchers: Warming Temperatures Could Multiply Katrina-Like Hurricanes

  By Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters  |  March 19, 2013

  The number of Atlantic storms with magnitude similar to killer Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, could rise sharply this century, environmental researchers reported on Monday.

• 

  On Climate Change, a Do-Nothing Strategy is Not Risk-Free

  By Evan Mills  |  March 13, 2013

  Whatever insurers may think about the presence or causes of climate change, one thing is certain: the business climate is changing, rapidly.

• 

  Insurance Agents Address Climate Change

  By Laura Mazzuca Toops, PropertyCasualty360.com, Melissa Hillebrand, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 22, 2013

  Producers representing a broad spectrum of regions and coverage types discuss how—if at all—their businesses are responding to the prospect of changing weather patterns.

• 

  Travelers President: P&C Rates Need to Address Weather Reality

  By Mark E. Ruquet, PropertyCasualty360  |  February 14, 2013

  The president of Travelers says the increased severity of weather events is forcing the company to increase rate over the long term, regardless of whether or not the climate is changing.

• Allstate Increases Sandy Loss Tally; Q4 Profit Down 44.7%

  By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 7, 2013

  Allstate has upped its projected losses from Superstorm Sandy to about $1.12 billion, but the insurer's CEO says the company has paid about 98 percent of submitted claims.

• Looming Liability

  By Bryant Rousseau, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 5, 2013

  One climate-change related threat insurers say is worth watching—and losing some sleep about: Class-action suits against carbon-based energy companies, accusing them of causing global warming and therefore being liable for the resulting damages.

• The California Commissioner’s Office on Climate Change

  By Bryant Rousseau, PropertyCasualty360.com  |  February 5, 2013

  California is one of the three states, along with New York and Washington, that has initiated the joint administration of a survey asking all insurance companies writing more than $300 million in direct written premium to discuss the steps they are taking to address climate change.