While the insured loss from Hurricane Irene will be modest, the natural catastrophe may help insurers and push up pricing, says Moody’s.That wasn't too tough to figure out:
The estimates $2bn to $6bn of losses from Hurricane Irene will not be a major capital or credit event for the property/casualty industry, Moody’s has said.
But the rating agency added in a credit report: “Although the hurricane’s damage will pressure earnings, the ‘close call’ of a moderate catastrophe that could have been much worse will help support pricing discipline for the industry.”...
August 30, 2011 (i.e. pre-landfall)
UPDATED: Insurance Companies Already Considering Premium Increases (ALL; ACE; TRV; XL) and tomorrow we tie a hurricane record
The best buys are probably the reinsurers Ace and XL but they aren't trading pre-market.
The Travelers and Allstate both look set to open up 2% or more
Remember when Allstate wanted to raise premiums in Florida by 42% (later amended to a 47% increase) because of global warming?
That was just before the start of the almost 1100 day period when the U.S. suffered not a single landfalling hurricane, the streak that was broken by Irene on Saturday.*
As I said in March 2010's ""No Surprise: Chile Leads to Reinsurance Rate Increase Debate" BRK-A; BRK-B", just after the monster earthquake in Chile
No kidding.
A brisk breeze gets the boys in Omaha, Zurich, Munich and London (Lloyds) talking about premium increases.
Not to mention the herverzekering crowd in Amsterdam, they're tough bastards....
