NU Online News Service, Sept. 10, 11:42 a.m. EDT
Modeler EQECAT said it updated its loss estimation and now predicts between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion in total insured losses from the recent magnitude 7.1 earthquake in New Zealand last Saturday.
Most of the losses will be paid by residential insurers, with between $1.3 billion and $2 billion in losses expected. Another $200 million to $500 million in insured losses are expected for commercial insurance companies, EQECAT said.
Previously, EQECAT had estimated insured losses of between $1 billion and $4 billion.
Other modelers have estimated insured losses of between $1 billion and $4.5 billion from the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has said most of the residential losses from the earthquake will be paid out by the Earthquake Commission, which was started by the government in 1945 and currently has about $5.6 billion in the fund and is backed up by reinsurance from overseas groups.
As reported by broker Aon Benfield, damage to buildings was not limited to the resiliency of that building but could be related to the strength of a neighboring building. "Masonry falling from one building through the roof of its neighbor was a familiar sight throughout the city," an Aon field report said.
This has complicated business interruption, Aon said, as buildings deemed safe are threatened by surrounding buildings deemed unsafe.
Modelers have been in agreement that performance of buildings built or fortified per the country's earthquake codes performed well in the earthquake.
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