ISO: Insurers Had $1.2 B Quarterly CAT Loss

ISO: Insurers Had $1.2 B Quarterly CAT Loss

NU Online News Service, April 28, 3:38 p.m. EDT?U.S. property-casualty insurers sustained an estimated $2.1 billion in first quarter property-loss claims from eight catastrophes, according to preliminary estimates by Property Claim Services.[@@]

The company, a unit of the Jersey City-based Insurance Services Office, Inc. said the loss figure was the second highest since the first quarter of 1996, when the industry suffered losses of $2.6 billion. First-quarter catastrophe losses in the first three months of 2004 were $1.04 billion.

PCS estimated the eight catastrophes will generate 535,000 claims from policyholders in 28 states--61 percent of which are personal property, 14 percent commercial property, and 25 percent vehicle claims.

The quarter's costliest catastrophe loss came from thunderstorms in late March that pounded the South and the East Coast for an estimated $655 million in losses.

Texas, at $565 million, headed the list of the five most severely affected states, followed by California at $275 million, Georgia at $220 million, Alabama at $150 million and Pennsylvania at $120 million.

PCS defines a catastrophe as an event that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a significant number of p-c policyholders and insurers.

PCS estimates represent anticipated insured losses on an industrywide basis arising from catastrophes, reflecting the total insurance payment for personal and commercial property lines of insurance covering fixed property, personal property, vehicles, boats, related property items, business interruption and additional living expenses. The estimates exclude loss adjustment expenses.