Commercial Lines

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., late Tuesday introduced legislation that would roll back a number of National Flood Insurance Program reforms passed last year.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said damages from the Moore, Okla. tornado may exceed $3 billion while AIR Worldwide estimates that the replacement value of damaged properties around the track of the tornado could be as high as $6 billion.

The damage from Monday's tornado in a suburb of Oklahoma City is likely to exceed that caused by the 2011 twister in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 161 people, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said.

Tornadoes have caused $97.8 billion in insured losses in the U.S. between 1990 and 2009, making these weather events second only to hurricanes for that period as the costliest natural disasters. Learn about the damage caused to the U.S. in recent years from these weather events.

Average tornadoes move at less than 35 miles per hour and last just a few minutes, but yesterday a two-mile wide EF4 tornado packing 166 to 200 mph winds ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma City for 40 minutes.

Investors in niche financial bonds that cover insurers against huge natural disasters are on alert for future events that could force them to pay out after the powerful tornado that struck the U.S. on Monday, brokers and fund managers said.