BP has agreed to finance a US$20 billion fund to pay the claims of people whose jobs and way of life have been damaged by the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama said on June 16. Obama said the $20 billion will provide substantial assurance that legitimate claims made [...]
The long-term trend towards ever higher natural catastrophe costs continues, Munich Re’s Geo Risks experts conclude in view of the large number of natural catastrophes recently, the latest examples being the earthquake in Chile, hailstorms in Australia and Winter Storm Xynthia in Europe. Munich Re now estimates its loss burden from the earthquake that struck [...]
Canadians who are suddenly forced to cope with extreme weather events such as windstorms, wildfire and torrential rains, as well as other disasters, will now have quick access to on-site insurance-related information, thanks to a new national program launched by Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). In consultation with provincial authorities, IBC will deploy its Community [...]
Aon Benfield Securities has released its quarterly report on the Insurance-Linked Securities market, which reveals that catastrophe bonds provided significantly increased returns for investors during the first three months of the year. "Insurance-Linked Securities – First Quarter Update 2010" highlights that returns for the three months to March 31 averaged 3.4% across all ILS [...]
Householders, businesses and farmers up and down the US are battening down the hatches in preparation for the 2010 tornado season, which gets properly underway this month. In a new report, Lloyd’s of London is taking a look at tornados in the US. The peak of US tornado season varies by geographic region but usually [...]
A large earthquake occurred on Sunday, April 4, 2010 in Mexico just south of the California, US border. Nearly 1 million people were exposed to shaking of a very strong intensity, and the earthquake has been reported to be felt over a vast area of Mexico and the US, throughout southern California, and as far [...]
Aon Benfield has released its April 1, 2010 Update to its Reinsurance Market Outlook report, which reveals that property catastrophe rates continued the softening trend witnessed at January 1st as the market completes April 1 renewals. Despite significant reinsurer reports of first quarter income impacts, catastrophe losses from the Chilean earthquake, Windstorm Xynthia in [...]
An unprecedented US $16 billion in losses from the Chilean earthquake, the European storm Xynthia and other natural catastrophes have made the first three months of 2010 the worst first quarter on record for such events, according to the latest renewals report from Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Group. Willis Re’s 1st [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. According to Swiss Re’s latest sigma study, natural catastrophes and man-made disasters claimed approximately 15,000 lives and cost insurers $26 billion in 2009. The overall cost to society was $62 billion. Insured losses were below average due to a calm US hurricane season. On a worldwide basis, [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. ISO has been working with Toronto based MSA Research Inc. to bring Property Claim Services - PCS - to Canada. A new independent service named PCS-Canada (www.pcs-canada.com) enables primary insurance companies, reinsurers, brokers, and others to receive, for the first time, industry-wide data about Canadian catastrophes, including [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. RSA has announced the impact of the Chilean earthquake on its business. RSA Insurance Group is the leading general insurer in Chile through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Royal & SunAlliance Seguros Chile. The February 27 earthquake caused widespread damage throughout Chile and, while the situation is still evolving, [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. Based on preliminary analysis, Fitch Rating believes that the Chilean property/casualty insurance industry will likely be able to absorb losses from the earthquake and Tsunami that hit the central-south part of Chile on February 27. However, industry profitability ratios will be negatively impacted, and the 2010 fiscal [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. Officials in Eureka, California say that the January 9 earthquake that rattled the area could bring losses of about $21.8 million dollars. The 6.5 magnitude earthquake was centered in the ocean about 40 kilometers from the coastal city of Eureka and left property damage, with no reports [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. Last year saw the most active fourth quarter ever for catastrophe bond issuance, reaching almost $1.1 billion in total volume, eclipsing the previous best fourth quarter by over 75 percent. Risk Management Solutions announced it conducted the expert risk analysis for as much as 70 percent of [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake has ravaged Haiti. The center of the quake was located about 16 kilometers outside the capital of Port-au-Prince. While it can be challenging to estimate exposure values in developing countries such as Haiti, risk modeler EQECAT estimates the economic damages from this event to [...]
View the video here on your mobile device. Reinsurance rates across most lines of property catastrophe business declined at the January 1, 2010 renewal, according to a briefing released by Guy Carpenter & Company. The report shows Guy Carpenter’s World Catastrophe Rate on Line – or ROL – Index declining by six percent at [...]
