admin posted on April 30, 2008 08:33
"JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 29, 2008 — U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $3.35 billion for first-quarter property losses resulting from nine catastrophes.
The nine events identified as catastrophes by PCS include an event PCS declared a catastrophe solely for the workers compensation loss associated with a February explosion at a sugar refinery in Georgia. This declaration is in keeping with PCS’s commitment to identify events affecting the property/casualty industry. Currently, no estimate of the extent of the insured workers compensation loss has been determined. The analysis in this press release excludes that catastrophe.
PCS estimates that the remaining eight catastrophes of first-quarter 2008 generated 615,000 claims in 22 states. Seven of these were caused by severe weather — damaging wind, large hail, flooding, and tornadoes — and one was caused by a winter storm.
“The remaining eight events still represent the greatest frequency in the first quarter since 1999 — tied with the eight events declared in 2005,” said Gary Kerney, assistant vice president, PCS. “The insured property loss, however, remains the largest in the last decade.”
Of the 22 states, the five with the largest insured property losses were Georgia ($610 million), Tennessee ($535 million), California ($360 million), Texas ($270 million), and Arkansas ($223 million)." (source:Insurance Services Office, iso.com)
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