Catastrophe Risks

US hurricane seasons are becoming more expensive because more Americans are living in coastal states, according to a new white paper from the Insurance Information Institute. The white paper says that repairing and replacing sizable wind-damaged homes are among the reasons insured loss payout figures continue to climb after hurricanes. Read More

Industry insured losses to onshore property as a result of Hurricane Laura will range from $4 billion to $8 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide. Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, close to the Texas border, on August 27, 2020, as a strong Category 4 storm. Read More

This year's California wildfires could lead to further increases in reinsurance rates, according to a new commentary from A.M. Best. Given the extensive use of reinsurance by insurance companies with property exposures in California, the 2020 wildfires may spur additional reinsurance and retrocession market rate hikes along with capacity shifts. Read More

While the economic and insured losses from Hurricane Laura will be significant, the catastrophe is unlikely to prompt downgrades of individual property-casualty insurers or reinsurers, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch said that Hurricane Laura will likely be an earnings event and not a capital event for the property-casualty industry. Read More

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been significant for both traditional insurance companies and captive insurance companies. That impact will likely continue to be felt for some time to come, according to speakers discussing "Captives and Unforeseen (Pandemics) Events" at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association 2020 Virtual Conference. Read More