Losses

News on catastrophe and man-made losses that impact or could impact the reinsurance industry and reinsurers around the globe.

California fires push Mercury General’s 2019 cat losses to $53mn

17th January 2020

Mercury General Corporation, a Los Angeles-based multi-line insurer, has disclosed that it incurred $53 million ($52 million net of tax) of catastrophe losses in 2019. More than two thirds of these losses were incurred in the fourth quarter of the year alone, and primarily resulted from the wildfires in California and ... Read the full article

Allstate’s 2019 cat losses down after quiet end to year

16th January 2020

The Allstate Corporation has announced that catastrophe losses in the month of December reached $25 million (pre-tax), taking its fourth-quarter 2019 estimated cat loss total to $295 million (pre-tax). Combined with the firm's loss experience throughout the rest of 2019, Allstate's 2019 catastrophe loss bill stands at approximately $2.6 billion, which ... Read the full article

The Hanover’s Q4 non-cat property losses above expectations

16th January 2020

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has revealed that it expects its fourth-quarter 2019 non-catastrophe property losses to exceed expectations by roughly $20 million, pre-tax. The holding company states that the losses were mainly driven by non-catastrophe weather activity in homeowners, and also large property losses in commercial multiple peril and certain ... Read the full article

Chubb puts Q4 cat losses at $430mn

15th January 2020

Global insurer and reinsurer Chubb has announced net catastrophe losses of an estimated $430 million pre-tax ($353 million after-tax) for the fourth-quarter of 2019, net of reinsurance. Chubb states that the losses are primarily a result of severe, global weather-related events, including tornadoes in Texas, the California wildfires, and also typhoon ... Read the full article

ICA puts Australian bushfire losses at A$1.34bn, expects sharp increase

14th January 2020

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has revealed that insurers have now received 13,750 bushfire catastrophe-related claims since November 8th, with industry losses estimated at AUD 1.34 billion (approximately USD 925 million). The ICA has warned that it is anticipating a further "sharp increase" in claims this week after commercial claims ... Read the full article

Insured bushfire losses jump to $645mn in Australia

10th January 2020

Re/insurance industry losses from the catastrophic bushfires still burning through southeastern Australia continue to increase, with the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) now estimating total insured losses at US $645 million (AU $939 million). The new figure represents a jump of 33% compared with the ICA’s previous loss estimate on ... Read the full article

Suncorp states that bushfire losses could hit its reinsurance as claims soar

9th January 2020

Suncorp Group has announced that it has received more than 2,600 bushfire-related claims since September 2019 with a total estimated cost of up to AUD 345 million (USD 237 million), and has noted that losses from the event could trigger its reinsurance protection. The large Australian primary insurer is the latest ... Read the full article

Bushfire losses to rise but remain manageable, says Moody’s

9th January 2020

Moody's Investors Service has warned of a dent to profits from the ongoing bushfires ravaging parts of Australia, but says that the strong fundamentals of the region's property and casualty (P&C) insurers suggests that losses will be manageable. As of January 7th, 2020 the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) had ... Read the full article

Fitch expects limited insured losses from Puerto Rico quake

8th January 2020

Global financial services ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has said that the insurance industry loss from the recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Puerto Rico is likely to be lower than the losses the island experienced from Hurricane Maria. While many were asleep in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a devastating 6.4 ... Read the full article

Munich Re pegs insured nat cat losses at $52bn in 2019

8th January 2020

New data from reinsurer Munich Re estimates that natural catastrophes caused global economic losses of $150 billion in 2019, of which $52 billion was covered by re/insurance. Analysts noted that the insured portion of overall losses – slightly above 35% - was broadly in line with the average over the past ... Read the full article

Insured losses from Australian bushfires rise again to USD 485 million

7th January 2020

The insurance industry losses from the ongoing bushfires ravaging parts of Australia continue to rise, with the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) now putting the total at USD 485 million (AUD 700 million). The latest figure, which is up by more than 60% on the USD 300 million (AUD 431 million) ... Read the full article

Australia bushfire claims rise to USD 300 million: ICA

6th January 2020

The bushfires burning through New South Wales (NSW), Queensland, South Australia and Victoria have driven more than 6,000 insurance claims since September 5th, 2019, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). Insurance and reinsurance claims from the bushfires burning through parts of Australia are continuing to rise, with the ICA ... Read the full article

Australia bushfire claims escalate, with further losses forecast

2nd January 2020

Insurance and reinsurance claims from the bushfires burning through New South Wales and other areas of Australia are continuing to escalate, with more extreme fire danger forecast over the coming days and weeks. Analysts at Aon report that insurance claims from this season’s bushfires have now reached US $207 million, while ... Read the full article

GIAJ puts Typhoon Faxai costs at $3.1bn, Hagibis claims growing

24th December 2019

Claim payments from Typhoon Faxai have reached $3.1 billion, according to the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ), up from $2.45 billion a month ago. Recent estimates from catastrophe modeller RMS indicate that the eventual cost of Faxai will be between $5 billion and $9 billion, while AIR ... Read the full article

PERILS raises final Sydney hail property loss estimate to AU $798mn

20th December 2019

Catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS has released its fourth and final property loss estimate for the hailstorms that affected the greater Sydney region in December 2018, raising the figure to AU $798 million (US $550 million). The estimate, which comes a full year after the original event, also includes the property ... Read the full article