CNA Reports $40M-$60M Charley Damage

By Steve Tuckey

NU Online News Service, Aug. 27, 3:41 p.m. EDT?CNA said yesterday that it expected a $40 million to $60 million impact from Hurricane Charley and company officials warned that damages could rise as all claims are tallied.

Cincinnati-based American Financial Group said it expects losses from the Aug. 13 storm to amount to about $8 million, most of which stem from commercial policies. The company said the losses would not impact its annual earnings forecast of between $2.85 and $3.10 a share.

Springfield, Ill.-based Horace Mann expects the impact to be about $12 million to $14 million before tax.

Los Angeles-based Mercury General estimates losses to range from $7 million to $9 million before taxes in property and auto losses.

Specialty insurer Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Company said it expects losses not to exceed $6.8 million on an after-tax basis.

The company is one of the largest insurers of mobile homes in the country. During the storm, which ripped across Florida's mid-section, a large number of structures in trailer parks were flattened.

William Stander, Tallahassee, Fla.-based regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said that 95 percent of the homes destroyed in Desoto County were mobile homes.

"Since Florida has more mobile homes than any other state and since many of them were built before the stricter construction and building codes went into effect after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, this destruction is not surprising, but it is still shocking," he said.

Special Reports /

CNA Reports $40M-$60M Charley Damage

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