Topic Catastrophes
Wood prices soar after Katrina
September 21, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterDamage inflicted in the southern United States as a result of Hurricane Katrina contributed to a rise of wood prices on the BMO Financial Group Commodity Price Index, BMO Economics reported Sept. 21.BMO reports the extensive rebuilding work in the…
Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Rita
September 21, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterThe National Hurricane Centre in the U.S. says Hurricane Rita, now a Category 4 hurricane, “could reach Category 5 intensity in the central Gulf of Mexico” and is tracking to reach landfall on the south coast of Texas and the…
Berkshire to bear 3-5% of Katrina losses
September 21, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterBerkshire Hathaway (BRK.A; BRK.B) estimates “it will incur 3-5% of the industry losses associated with Hurricane Katrina,” the company has announced.Industry losses have recently been estimated at anywhere between $40 billion to $60 billion. If these figures hold true, Berkshire’s…
Manulife’s Katrina losses at US$165 million
September 20, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterCanadian-based Manulife Financial Corporation [TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC; SEHK: 0945] estimates its after-tax losses related to damages left by Hurricane Katrina will be US$165 million.Manulife provides property catastrophe coverage to a number of reinsurers, the company said in a statement. “Reinsurers generally…
Hurricane Rita heads towards Louisiana, Texas
September 20, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterAlready flooded and battered by Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane, Louisiana now faces the possibility of being hit by Hurricane Rita sometime around Sept. 24.Hurricane Rita is now a Category 1 hurricane in the Bahamas, with maximum sustained wind…
Louisiana to restrict P&C policy cancellations
September 20, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterLouisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco is expected to sign an emergency order that would severely restrict the ability of property/casualty and health insurers to cancel a policy within the seven-parish region that was hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina, A.M. Best reports.Bobby…
Fitch reviews adequacy of computer-modeling
September 19, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterFitch Ratings in Chicago says it is reviewing “the reliability of catastrophe modeling” to support its analysis of the capital adequacy of insurers.Fitch said it presumes probabilistic vendor models used throughout the insurance industry to assess catastrophe exposures represent current,…
Reinsurers update Katrina losses
September 19, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterRisk Management Solutions, which does catastrophe modeling, is reporting a more detailed breakdown of overall industry losses in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane that all but decimated New Orleans in late August.RMS is projecting industry-wide losses…
Ophelia leaves less than $800 million in damages
September 19, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterThe remnants of tropical storm Ophelia have tracked eastward, away from Newfoundland, and the Canadian Hurricane Centre of Environment Canada has lifted all warnings for inland areas of Newfoundland.Once a Category 1 storm that swept through Northern Carolina last week,…
Pethealth Inc. aids PETCO P.A.L.S. members
September 16, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterPethealth Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PTZ), will be suspending insurance premium payments through January 1, 2006 for all PETCO P.A.L.S. members enrolled in a PetCare insurance plan and who live in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama. “With a catastrophe of this magnitude we…
Analysts debate post-Katrina rate hikes
September 16, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterU.S. industry analysts are predicting insurance premium rate increases along the U.S. Gulf States and along the eastern seaboard in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina although the rates are not expected to rise in the immediate future.“The claims in Louisiana…
Mississippi AG sues insurance industry
September 16, 2005 by Canadian UnderwriterMississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has filed a complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order against the insurance industry, seeking to declare void and unenforceable certain provisions contained in property casualty insurance policies issued to Mississippi Gulf Coast…