Seattle-based insurer Safeco said losses from last month's Oregon and Washington windstorms will amount to an estimated $30 million in catastrophe losses, costing it $20 million after-tax, or 18 cents per share.
The carrier said the figures represent estimated losses both from claims received through Jan. 4 and from future expected claims from policyholders with storm damage from this event.
"December's windstorm was the worst to hit the Pacific Northwest in more than a decade," said Paula Reynolds, Safeco president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
Safeco said Friday it already has made partial or full payments on the majority of its December windstorm claims reported to date. It added that members of the company's national catastrophe team have remained in the Northwest to continue their work.
Safeco estimated windstorm losses based on the value of property in areas with storm damage, its knowledge of severity and reporting patterns from past storms, damage projections based on wind speed, anticipated costs for a surge in demand for goods and labor to complete repairs, and other factors requiring considerable judgment.
The storms hit during the busy holiday season and created prolonged power outages in the Puget Sound area, causing some policyholders to delay reporting claims, the company said. Due to the severity of the storm and the preliminary nature of the information, the loss estimate could rise, Safeco added.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
