Up to $3.5 Billion in Insured Losses from New Zealand Quake: AIR

Catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide said insured losses will be between $762 million and $3.5 billion from the powerful South Island, New Zealand earthquake on November 14.

The estimated cost translates locally to between NZD 1.15 billion and 5.3 billion.

“More than 80,000 landslides and 2,600 aftershocks have been recorded following the massive earthquake that struck New Zealand’s South Island,” said Bingming Shen-tu, assistant vice president at AIR Worldwide, in a statement. He said recovery efforts in the region were troubled by gale-force winds, heavy rainfall, and flooded roads.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/12/01/%243.5billion-insured-losses-new-zealand-quake/

Chad Hemenway, Up to $3.5 billion in insured losses from New Zealand quake: AIR (December 1, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

P&C Insurers Log First Half Underwriting Loss But Maintain Strong Position to Pay Claims

The US P&C insurance industry saw a streak of net underwriting profitability come to an end when it recorded a loss of $1.5 billion in the first half of 2016, compared with a $3.5 billion underwriting profit in the first half 2015.

The loss marked the industry’s first year-to-date net underwriting loss in more than three years, according to a report from Verisk’s ISO, the Insurance Information Institute and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

First-half net income fell to $21.7 billion from $31 billion during the same time a year ago.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/10/17/pc-insurers-log-first-half-underwriting-loss-but-maintain-strong-position-to-pay-claims/

Chad Hemenway, P&C insurers log first half underwriting loss but maintain strong position to pay claims (October 17, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Hurricane Matthew Losses Unlikely to Turn the Commercial Property Market

The commercial insurance industry may be looking to buck a trend of falling rates, but losses from Hurricane Matthew seem less likely to be the kind of catastrophic event to turn the market.

As Hurricane Matthew approached Florida late last week, some catastrophe modelers estimated losses of $30 billion from what was a raging Category 4 storm.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/10/17/hurricane-matthew-losses-unlikely-to-turn-the-commercial-property-market/

Erin Ayers, Hurricane Matthew losses unlikely to turn the commercial property market (October 17, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Billions in Potential Marine Insurance Losses as RMS Ranks the Top 10 Riskiest Ports

On the one-year anniversary of the Tianjin Port explosion, ranked as one the highest insured losses in history, catastrophe modeling firm RMS evaluated potential losses at other world ports to aid insurers in their “guessing game” of where disaster could next strike and to what degree.

RMS’ marine risk experts calculated the 1 in 500 year loss probability for ports in nearly 80 countries, looking at cargo type, storage location (near the water or further inland), type of storage (warehouses, containers, etc.), and how long cargo remains in port (which can vary based on automation, labor, and whether goods are imported or exported). RMS noted, for example, that although container shipping has improved the global economy, it increases catastrophic risk exposure due to larger ships.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/16/billions-in-potential-marine-insurance-losses-as-rms-ranks-the-top-10-riskiest-ports/

Erin Ayers, Billions in potential marine insurance losses as RMS ranks the top 10 riskiest ports (August 16, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.