While roughly 11.0 points of catastrophe losses hit the combined ratios of Bermuda insurers and reinsurers in 2010, they still managed to report nearly 9.0 points of underwriting profit. Favorable loss reserve development from prior years helped soften the blow according to an NU data analysis.

A recent report from Entergy Corp. said that without climate-change mediation, economic losses in the Gulf Coast could rise 50-60 percent by 2030 to $23 billion annually.

As someone who lived in Japan for two years—and who experienced the Kobe earthquake firsthand—the devastating disaster that struck the country hit me hard from a personal standpoint.

An overview of how catastrophe models are used in the industry.