E&S/Specialty

Two Bermuda (re)insurers report positive movement in profitability for the 2012 third quarter, with Axis Capitals net income inching up and Montpelier Re reversing a 2011 third-quarter net loss.

Lloyds Banking Group took another 1 billion pound ($1.6 billion) hit to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance, taking its charge for the scandal to 5.3 billion and dragging it to a third-quarter loss.

Catastrophe modeler Eqecat doubled its initial estimate of insured losses from Superstorm Sandy to up to $20 billion.

Business interruption and contingent business interruption claims loom as a large issue following Superstorm Sandy, as thousands of businesses of all sizes deal with flooding, physical damage, power outages, government orders and supply chain disruptions.

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide says Superstorm Sandy will cause between $7 billion and $15 billion in insured losses.

Risk Management Solutions says Sandy's impact on the East Coast is much more severe than last years Hurricane Irene. As emergency personnel, modelers and insurers assess the ultimate damage, some have connected the storm to hot topics such as federal risk-management strategies, insurers' disaster responses, and climate change.