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.