NU Online News Service, June 15, 1:19 p.m. EDT
State Auto Financial Corp. says it expects between $45 million and $50 million in pretax catastrophe losses from U.S. storms in May.
This total is in addition to between $75 million and $85 million in losses from April storms. State Auto says that prior to 2011, its historic five-year second-quarter average catastrophe loss ratio is 18 percentage points, or $50 million in losses.
For the May storms, State Auto says three catastrophes impacted 23 of the company's operating states, resulting in more than 9,000 claims.
State Auto President, Chairman and CEO Bob Restrepo says: "Last month continued an unprecedented 2011 pattern of deadly and destructive storms, from Joplin, Mo. to Springfield, Mass. While we can't control the weather, we can deliver the high level of service State Auto independent agents and insureds have come to expect. From agents whose offices were destroyed to insureds who lost their homes or businesses, State Auto associates are working around the clock to deliver peace of mind in the wake of these tragedies."
Earlier this month, AIR Worldwide said losses from storms that occurred May 20-27 could cause insured losses of between $4 billion and $7 billion.
In late May, catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions said losses from the April storms will likely be in the range of $3.5 billion to $6 billion.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.