Former USAA chief actuary David Cummings gave a presentation on the impact of natural disasters from the point of view of insurers as part of Schreiner University's Weir and Neill Labatt Distinguished Lecture Series.

To give some perspective on how insurers have changed their approach to disasters, Cummings began with an overview of the Galveston hurricane of 1900. "Still to this day, it is the deadliest natural disaster in American history," Cummings said.

"We learned very important lessons from it overall." He said leaders there held a dangerous belief.