Life is a beautiful thing, but it’s also full of risks. Every day when we get out of bed, we face a world full of dangers. We can weather a lot of bad things in life, but not every bad outcome is something that we can handle on our own. A broken bone can be painful and expensive, but a serious illness can put even the most financially cautious people in debt. When some things in our home break down, we can reach into our pocket and pony up the…
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BOSTON, Dec. 28, 2013 — According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, over the last several days, a series of three winter storms (named Christian, Dirk, and Erich) cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK and France and flooded an estimated 1,200 homes across the UK. As of Friday afternoon local time, an estimated 13,000 homes were still without power. Trains, ferries, and aircraft have experienced significant delays and cancellations. Extratropical cyclones, also known as winter storms, form when a warm, tropical air mass interacts with…
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BOSTON, Dec. 10, 2013 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, last week, Extratropical Cyclone Xaver affected large parts of northern Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, southern Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Xaver followed approximately five weeks after Windstorm Christian battered Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, France, UK, and Sweden in late October. AIR estimated insured losses of between EUR 1.5 billion and EUR 2.3 billion from Christian. “Hurricane-force winds caused widespread power outages and travel disruptions throughout the region, but the…
Read MoreThe Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has come under fire from the National Wildlife Federation. The federation claims that the agency is granting flood insurance policies to land development projects that could put natural habitats at risk of destruction. The federation claims that FEMA is acting in violation of the Endangered Species Act, which protects these habitats from construction projects. These projects are primarily focused on the Puget Sound region of Washington. Without flood insurance, companies cannot expand into this region of the state because it presents a significant risk…
Read MoreResidents of Mississippi are in danger of losing their flood insurance if state legislators do not take action on a particular law. The state was put on notice by the Federal Emergency Management Agency late last week because one of the state’s laws makes hunting and fishing camps exempt from the building codes that govern the flood prone areas of the state. FEMA claims that if the issue is not resolved by May 5th, those receiving coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program will see their policies canceled. According to…
Read MoreNationwide and Allied Insurance are coming together to provide policyholders with quick assistance in the wake of natural disasters that have come to the Southeastern U.S. In the past year, residents of Southeastern states have been inundated with storms, tornadoes and floods. These disasters have caused extensive damage to homes and businesses and put severe strain on the economy of the region. Insurers hold out hope that 2012 will not be a retelling of the previous year in terms of catastrophes, but recent storms have shaken that hope. The two…
Read MoreThe United Kingdom has fallen victim to the first major windstorm of the year. Windstorm Andrea blew into the country late last week, causing significant damage in Scotland and northern England. AIR Worldwide, a global risk modeling firm, the storm caused damage to the nation’s energy infrastructure, causing several blackouts throughout northern and central UK. Windstorm Andrea is just one of several major storm systems that have come to the country in the past few months. While the UK was severely impacted by the event, the storms intensity paled in…
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