"Hurricane Matthew insured loss up to $5bn U.S., $3bn Caribbean..."
From Artemis:
The insurance and reinsurance industry could face losses from
hurricane Matthew of up to $5 billion for damage in the U.S. and up to
$3 billion for damage across the Caribbean, according to risk modelling
firm RMS.
RMS
is the latest to provide an official estimate of insured losses due to
recent hurricane Matthew and the figures are roughly in-line with the
consensus, although U.S. figures are towards the lower end of estimates
which will be encouraging for the re/insurance industry.
RMS told clients yesterday and reported today that the firm estimates
that U.S. insurance losses from Hurricane Matthew will be in a range
from $1.5 to $5 billion, while insured losses in the Caribbean will be
between $1 and $3 billion, with the majority coming from The Bahamas.
The company expects that around 70% of the estimated U.S. loss is to
residential insurance lines, while coastal flooding due to storm surge
is likely to contribute around 30% of the all-lines loss. This includes
an expectation of coverage leakage and an escalation in claims severity
for wind-only policies in situations where RMS says wind and water
hazards both feature in residential lines of business.
Interestingly, RMS said that just one of the ten event
reconstructions the firm modelled resulted in a U.S. insured loss of
over $4 billion, perhaps suggesting that the insurance and reinsurance
industry faces a slightly lower bill than had been anticipated.
But RMS warns that there is still a small possibility that U.S.
losses from hurricane Matthew affecting the insurance and reinsurance
industry could reach as high as $5 billion.
Both of the insured loss estimates, for the U.S. and Caribbean,
include property damage and business interruption, caused by wind and
coastal flooding upon residential, commercial, and industrial lines of
business. For the U.S, auto lines of business are also included. The
firms estimate does not include losses to the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) or to public buildings and infrastructure....MORE
