Topic
Catastrophes
Major earthquake could mean ‘weeks and months of response time’ for insurer’s contractors
March 25, 2014 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorAfter a severe earthquake, it could take months for civil engineers to complete their work for insurance carriers, and some claims professionals will rely on aerial photography due to restrictions on entering disaster areas, according to speakers at a recent…
KCC’s modelling platform now generates exceedence probability curves, average annual losses
March 25, 2014 by Canadian UnderwriterKaren Clark & Company (KCC) has announced its open platform for catastrophe risk management is now a fully probabilistic loss estimation tool capable of generating exceedence probability (EP) curves, probable maximum losses (PMLs) and average annual losses. An open platform…
Claims adjuster to insurers: ‘Take your regular cat plan and throw it out the window’ if dealing with large earthquake
March 24, 2014 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorEarthquakes are different in some respects from weather catastrophes, and speakers at a panel Monday had several pieces of advice for insurance carriers who need to prepare for a major quake to affect Canada. “The majority of adjusters, when an…
Munich Re profit target for 2014 down as low interest rate challenge continues
March 20, 2014 by Canadian UnderwriterMunich Re ended last year with a profit of 3.3 billion euros, the third-best result in its history, but is aiming for a lower profit of 3 billion euros this year, the company reported Thursday. Overall in 2013, the group…
New regulations would give federal transport minister power to stop unsafe railways from operating
March 18, 2014 by Canadian UnderwriterThe federal government is proposing to give the Minister of Transport the power to stop a railway from operating if there are “extreme safety issues.” Currently, the Railway Safety Act gives railway inspectors the power issue a “letter of non-compliance”…
Earthquake with preliminary 4.4 magnitude strongly felt across Los Angeles
March 17, 2014 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSLOS ANGELES – A pre-dawn earthquake rolled across the Los Angeles basin on Monday, rattling residents from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. The quake’s magnitude was 4.4 and it was centred 15 miles (24 kilometres) west-northwest of the…
Magnitude 6.2 quake shakes Chile’s northern Pacific coast, hours after stronger one in region
March 17, 2014 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSGOLDEN, Colo. – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has shaken Chile’s northern Pacific shore just hours after a stronger 6.7-magnitude quake hit the same region. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has no tsunami warning in effect. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that…
Former US nuclear regulatory chief wants phase out as lesson from Japan’s Fukushima disaster
March 13, 2014 Yuri Kageyama, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTOKYO – As radiation spewed from Japan’s nuclear disaster three years ago, the top U.S. atomic energy regulator issued a 50-mile evacuation warning for any Americans in the area, a response some found extreme. Gregory Jaczko, who stepped down as…
Searchers go through rubble of 2 NY buildings where at least 7 killed in gas explosion
March 13, 2014 Jonathan Lemire And Jake Pearson, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNEW YORK – Rescuers working amid gusty winds, cold temperatures and billowing smoke pulled four additional bodies Thursday from the rubble of two New York City apartment buildings, raising the death toll to at least seven from a gas leak-triggered…
B.C. government launches public consultation on earthquake preparation
March 12, 2014 by Canadian UnderwriterIn an announcement praised by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the British Columbia government said Tuesday it plans to invite input from stakeholders on how the province can better prepare for a catastrophic seismic event. “This emergency management consultation regarding…
Radioactive water still troubles Japanese nuclear plant, hampering cleanup process
March 10, 2014 Mari Yamaguchi, THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOKUMA, Japan – The radioactive water that has accumulated at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant remains the biggest problem hampering the cleanup process three years after the disaster. The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has stabilized substantially since the March 11, 2011,…
Powerful earthquake shakes Northern California; no injuries or damages
March 10, 2014 THE ASSOCIATED PRESSEUREKA, Calif. – A very strong earthquake rattled the Northern California coast and was widely felt across the region, but authorities said early Monday that there were no reports of any injuries or damages. The magnitude 6.9 quake struck at…