It has been 200 years since the New Madrid Earthquake, a major seismic event that rattled the Central U.S. in the winter of 1811. The quake, which was estimated as being a 7.0, struck what is, today, Missouri. To mark the occasion, AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling firm serving the insurance industry, has released a new report titled “The New Madrid Earthquake Bicentennial: Revisiting A Midwest Mystery.” The report details how much the catastrophe modeling community has changes in the centuries following the disaster and estimates the financial impacts of…
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Winter Storm Joachim Causes Widespread Power Outages, Travel Disruptions in Western Europe
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, late last week, winter storm Joachim developed over the Atlantic and became a severe extratropical cyclone over Western Europe. With a central pressure that reached as low as 963.8 mb and wind gusts exceeding 150 km/h, the storm’s strength was akin to that of a weak hurricane. Joachim’s warm front carried warm and moist air into Europe, causing heavy rain and snow in combination with high winds. The storm caused power outages and travel disruption in France, Germany, and Switzerland. “On the evening…
Read MoreHurricane Jova Poised to Make Landfall on Mexico’s West Coast
BOSTON, Oct. 11, 2011 — According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, with its outer rain bands already bringing heavy rainfall to Mexico’s southwest coast, Hurricane Jova is poised to make landfall as a strong Category 2 hurricane in Jalisco state this afternoon or early evening between the port city of Manzanillo in Colima state in the south and the resort city of Puerto Valarta in the north. “Hurricane Jova is moving toward the northeast at about five mph, and this forward speed is expected to increase slightly today,” said…
Read MoreTyphoon Nesat Makes Double China Landfall: on Hainan Island and on the Leizhou
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Nesat made landfall as a moderate Category 1 storm on the northeastern corner of the island of Hainan at 2:30 pm local time (6:30 UTC) Thursday, near the city of Wenchang in Wengtian Township. Its maximum sustained wind speeds at the time were 135 km/h. After crossing the northeastern tip of the island and moving along Hainan’s northern coast, Nesat turned sharply north, crossed the narrow (25 km) Qiongshou Strait, and made a second China landfall on the western coast of the…
Read MoreTwo former insurance executives appointed to Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance to help solve some of the company’s problems
As Florida continues to struggle with controversial rate increases from the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, Governor Rick Scott has appointed two insurance professionals to serve as board members for the company. These two former insurance industry executives will serve as a catalyst for change in the company. Governor Scott has said that he wants to reduce the coverage of Citizens, enabling competition with private insurance companies. Now that Citizens board of directors is populated with members with extensive histories in the industry, Scott’s goal may now be attainable. Citizens new…
Read MoreAIR Revises Its Industry Insured Loss Estimates for Hurricane Irene in the Bahamas Based on Updated Information Concerning Insurance Penetration
BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2011, — Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has revised its industry insured loss estimates for Hurricane Irene’s impact in the Bahamas to between USD 200 million and USD 400 million (previously USD 300 million to USD 700 million). AIR’s loss estimates for other countries in the Caribbean remain unchanged as do the estimates for losses from Irene in the United States. With the new estimates for the Bahamas, AIR now estimates industry insured losses for all impacted Caribbean countries at between USD 400 million and USD 800…
Read MoreTrillium Software helps insurers and reinsurers obtain more robust catastrophe modelling results
MONTE CARLO, Monaco & BILLERICA, MA – Sept. 13, 2011 – Trillium Software(r), a business of Harte-Hanks, Inc. (NYSE:HHS), and a leading enabler of Total Data Quality solutions, announced today an agreement with AIR Worldwide, the scientific leader and most respected provider of catastrophe risk modelling software, to provide more precise geocoding through the integration of Trillium Software’s geospatial capabilities with AIR’s catastrophe modelling application. The integrated software solution is expected to help AIR Worldwide’s clients improve risk geocoding and catastrophe risk analyses for perils such as wind, flood, and…
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