Moody's: Tsunami Losses Won?t Impact P-C Sector
NU Online News Service, New York, Jan. 21, 3:18 p.m. EST?Moody's Investors Service announced that it does not expect tsunami losses to cause widespread downgrades for property-casualty insurance and reinsurance companies it rates. [@@]
The company said despite the fact that ultimate economic losses from the Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami are expected to be significant, the level of insured losses for rated companies is expected to be manageable in the context of their capital strength and earnings capacity.
Moody's said this applies to companies it rates not only in North America but Europe, Australia and Asia, as well.
Moody's senior analyst Jeffrey Berg issued a report titled "South Asian Tsunami: Insured Losses Not Expected To Impact Property & Casualty Insurers' and Reinsurers' Ratings."
Mr. Berg said, "In spite of the substantial economic costs and tragic loss of human life, Moody's believes that the ultimate insured losses from the Asian tsunami will be moderate relative to economic losses."
Insured losses are expected to be small as a percentage of the overall economic loss because of the limited amount of property insurance coverage purchased by companies and individuals in the affected areas. In general, Moody's said the companies it rates do not have a material market presence in the affected regions.
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