With over $1 billion in tornado losses hitting insurers, first-quarter 2008 twister loss totals have blown past comparable first-quarter loss totals for the last four years, A.M. Best reported yesterday.
In a research report, analysts from the Oldwick, N.J.-based rating agency noted that roughly $850 million in first-quarter insured catastrophe losses resulted from the "Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak" in the mid-South on Feb. 5 and 6, and that about $340 million more came from a Mar. 14 tornado that struck in downtown Atlanta.
The report also said that while hurricanes and earthquakes tend to generate higher losses per event, on average, in each year since 1953 tornadoes and related weather events have caused nearly 57 percent of all U.S. insured catastrophe losses. In 2007, these perils generated 69 percent of the total insured cat losses.
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
© 2025 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.