Topic
Catastrophes
Blizzard dumps more than 80 centimetres of snow on Halifax
March 19, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterClean-up efforts are continuing in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), after a blizzard that dumped more than 80 centimetres in the region since the weekend. Most areas saw more than 50 centimetres of snow on Wednesday and high snow banks…
Return of 2011 First Nations flood evacuees won’t ‘happen overnight:’ minister
March 18, 2015 The Canadian PressWINNIPEG – The federal aboriginal affairs minister says about 2,000 evacuees forced from their homes since heavy flooding in Manitoba in 2011 won’t be able to return overnight. Bernard Valcourt says Ottawa is working closely with the province to get…
State Farm receives go-ahead to test unmanned aircraft systems
March 18, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterState Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company announced on Tuesday that it is the first insurer in the United States to receive permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial use. The decision provides…
U.S. Treasury Secretary should decide within 60-90 days whether incidents qualify for TRIA coverage: RIMS
March 18, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe United States government should decide within 60 to 90 days of an incident whether losses from that incident qualify for coverage under the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act (TRIA), which provides for a government backstop for commercial property coverage,…
New technology provides up-to-date view on global terrorist attacks
March 18, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterImpact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, announced on Wednesday that it is applying a new blast engineering approach to provide a more realistic understanding of the potential range of losses from a terrorist attack. Impact Forecasting’s terrorism risk…
Catastrophe modelling study presented at U.N. conference suggests little chance of reducing economic losses
March 18, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThere is little prospect of reducing economic losses from present levels of US$240 billion per year, suggested preliminary results from a catastrophe modelling study presented at the 3rd U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan on Wednesday.…
Track failures may have played role in northern Ontario derailments, TSB says
March 17, 2015 Paola Loriggio - THE CANADIAN PRESSCanada’s transportation investigator says track infrastructure failures may have played a role in three recent derailments involving oil-laden trains in northern Ontario. The Transportation Safety Board says it wants Transport Canada to review the risk assessments for a stretch of…
Manitoba to install sprinklers in personal care homes following fatal fire last year
March 17, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) said on Tuesday that it will spend $7 million to install sprinklers and other fire safety improvements in 24 personal care homes and hospitals in the province. Manitoba Labour and Immigration Minister…
Cyclone Pam displaces 3,300, kills 24 in Vanuatu: United Nations
March 16, 2015 By Nick Perry And Elaine Kurtenbach - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSWELLINGTON, New Zealand – The United Nations reported Monday that 24 people are confirmed dead and 3,300 have been displaced by Cyclone Pam in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. Radio and telephone communications with outer islands have not yet…
Average annual global losses, threat to lives and livelihoods from natural disasters pegged at US$190 billion: U.N. conference
March 16, 2015 by Canadian UnderwriterAverage annual economic losses and average annual insured losses of approximately US$190 billion and US$60 billion, respectively, from natural disasters in the past decade clearly demonstrate that governments must step up global efforts to build resilience. The caution was part…
Pacific Cyclone Pam hits Vanuatu, floods Kiribati
March 13, 2015 Nick Perry - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSWELLNGTON, New Zealand – An extremely powerful cyclone blew over islands in the Pacific’s Vanuatu archipelago late Friday after a westward change of course put populated areas directly in the path of its destructive 270 kilometre- (168 mile-) per-hour winds,…
U.S. flood insurance claims from Storm Sandy to be reviewed by Federal Emergency Management Agency
March 13, 2015 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTRENTON, N.J. – Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have agreed to reopen and review every flood insurance claim filed by Superstorm Sandy victims. The review will involve approximately 144,000 claims and not limit corrective action to 2,200 that are currently…