US insurers reeling at $3bn catastrophe payout
by David Masters
Story link: US insurers reeling at $3bn catastrophe payout
Property and casualty insurers in the US have been left reeling after a series of catastrophes in the first quarter left them with a $3.35 billion bill in claims to pay out.
According to the Property Claims Service, a sub-unit of the Insurance Services Office, nine catastrophes - including a series of February hurricanes, and an explosion in a Georgia sugar refinery - has left insurers with 615,000 claims across 22 states.
The cost of workers’ compensation following the sugar refinery explosion has get to be calculated and is not included in the $3.35 billion estimate.
The remaining 8 events constitute the biggest first quarter payouts since 1999.
The February tornadoes alone - the first big storms since Katrina in 2005 - are expected to cost insurers almost $1 billion.
The five states with the largest number of claims are Georgia ($610m), Tennessee ($535m), California ($360m), Texas ($270m) and Arkansas ($223m).
$1.9 billion of the claims are to be paid out by personal lines insurance. $1 billion is commercial insurance, and the remainder is motor insurance.
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