Indications so far are that damage has been relatively minor from the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the big island of Hawaii yesterday, with the overall insured losses unknown, said a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute.

And one investment bank analyst said severe insured losses are not expected to result.

Bear Stearns property-casualty analyst David Small said that his analysis of market share data from A.M. Best suggests the event will have limited impact on the publicly traded insurers he covers and the largest market share players are either not U.S. companies or not publicly traded.

Claire Wilkinson, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, said it remains uncertain whether or not the loss figure will exceed the $25 million threshold the Insurance Services Office uses to define a catastrophe.

Mr. Small also wrote that “further decreasing the potential that this will become a major insurance event is the fact that total premiums written in the state are fairly modest.”

Total homeowners premium in Hawaii is $252 million, compared with $4.9 billion for Florida, he said.

The top three commercial multiperil nonliability writers on the island by market share are Allianz of America Inc., 39 percent; CNA Insurance Cos., 22 percent; and State Farm, 15 percent.

Top homeowners' writers in the state are State Farm, 25 percent; Zephyr Insurance Co., 21 percent; and CNA Insurance, 10 percent.

A.M. Best also estimates that between 10 percent and 15 percent of homeowners nationwide have earthquake insurance.

In a report issued Friday the ratings agency said that because of the generally low take-up rates, a quake would tend to do more damage to the economy than would a more fully insured catastrophe of equivalent insured loss.

A 6.6 earthquake struck yesterday morning off the Kohala coast and lasted for almost a minute followed by 50 aftershocks. It knocked out power throughout the state, including the electricity to the city of Honolulu on the neighboring island of Oahu.

Special Reports /

Hawaii Quake Insured Loss Minimal

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