Insurance Blog

Beware the Ida of November — Hurricane Ida, that is. Though it is forecast to weaken further before making U.S. landfall, Hurricane Ida is currently a Category One hurricane and moving across the Gulf of Mexico near 16 mph. A hurricane warning remains in effect for the northern Gulf coast from Pascagoula, Mississippi eastward to Indian Pass, Florida and according to the National Hurricane Center, Ida is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf coast overnight. Under the current track, that looks likely to be somewhere near Alabama before it takes a turn to the northeast toward Georgia and Florida. The timing of Ida – some 22 or so days before the official end of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season is pause for thought. NOAA data show that the Atlantic basin has a very peaked season from August through October, with 78 percent of tropical storm days, 87 percent […]

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At last count, the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that triggered a tsunami that struck the Samoa Islands region on Tuesday has left over 140 dead, destroyed several villages and caused severe damage in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. President Obama has declared American Samoa a disaster area. Meanwhile a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that occurred off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday caused significant property damage in Padang, the city closest to the epicenter. Reports estimate at least 500 people were killed and thousands more have been injured or trapped in damaged buildings. The earthquakes come just days after Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines. While it’s too soon to know the extent of the economic loss from these global catastrophes, it’s important to note the cost in human lives. According to data from Swiss Re’s Sigma, in 2008 240,500 people worldwide died or were unaccounted for […]

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Catastrophe insurers and reinsurers will need to develop more secure channels for accessing capital that reflect the potential for future capital market disruptions and implement new risk management measures reflecting the lessons of the current economic crisis and the evolving regulatory response, according to a report by I.I.I. president Dr. Robert Hartwig. The report notes that while financial crises have always posed severe challenges, the capital intensive nature of catastrophe risk funding amplifies those challenges. The global economic crisis that began in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector in mid-2007 spread with remarkable speed and ferocity to challenge the operations of every segment of the global financial services industry, including insurance.  Although the basic function of nonlife insurance—the transfer of risk from client to insurer (and insurer to reinsurer)—continued uninterrupted, the capital intensive nature of catastrophe risk funding has been disrupted more than is generally appreciated. Hartwig notes that primary and […]

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Just a year since Hurricane Ike – the third most costly hurricane in U.S. history – hit coastal communities in Texas with a powerful storm surge, a new study by the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) says government minimum flood elevation requirements for Gulf Coast properties vulnerable to storm surge are woefully inadequate. Its report on property damage caused by Hurricane Ike finds that many properties are not built high enough to withstand storm surges. The IBHS study questions the current basis for elevating properties along the Gulf Coast and urges the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to provide greater incentives for building well above the minimum elevations now in place. As well as providing flood insurance, the NFIP establishes base flood elevation (BFE) levels for properties. All but a handful of properties located closest to the coast on the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas and even built to the […]

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A disorganized Tropical Storm Erika – the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season – is a little weaker with maximum sustained winds of near 45 miles per hour as it approaches the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, according to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Early today the center of Erika was located about 160 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands. Since its formation Tuesday, the storm has been moving generally westward near 7 miles per hour, but it is expected to turn west-northwest at a slightly faster forward speed over the next day or so. Because the 2009 Atlantic season has featured just one hurricane so far, the temptation is to say danger over. But let’s not speak too soon. Hurricane season activity generally peaks in early to mid-September. Our fellow bloggers over at the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Disaster Safety Blog […]

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The National Hurricane Center (NHC) this morning said Tropical Storm Danny remains a minimal tropical storm, but warned interests from the Carolinas northward to New England and Canada to monitor its progress. Earlier today the center of Danny was located about 355 miles south of Cape Hatteras North Carolina and moving toward the north-northwest near 9 miles per hour. A tropical storm watch is in effect for part of the North Carolina coast, meaning that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area and in this case within the next 24 hours. The center of Danny is expected to pass offshore of the outer banks of North Carolina early Saturday. The NHC also warned that large swells from Danny are expected to produce dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents along the U.S. East Coast during the next day or so. Waves from Hurricane Bill two weeks ago claimed […]

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With the East Coast of the United States breathing a sigh of relief after Hurricane Bill moved on north, finally making landfall in Newfoundland, Canada as a weak Category 1 hurricane on August 23, attention is now turning to a new tropical wave in the Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center this morning said there is a high chance (>50 percent) of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.  It said upper level winds are forecast to become more conducive for development during the next day or so as the system, currently centered about 300 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, moves west-northwestward around 20 miles per hour. We’ll be monitoring its development. Check out I.I.I. facts and stats on hurricanes.

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A severe thunderstorm that swept across New York City on Tuesday night left nearly 100 trees felled and hundreds more damaged in the city’s Central Park. An August 19 article in the New York Times cites officials at the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation and at the Central Park Conservancy saying this is the most severe destruction the park’s trees have sustained in decades. Trees in several other city parks also suffered significant damage. The storm is a reminder that thunderstorm losses can be substantial. A recent MunichRe Webinar noted that severe thunderstorms in the United States caused estimated insured losses of $6.1 billion (estimated overall losses of $8.9 billion) in the first six months of 2009. This was more than first-half losses from flood, winter storms and wildfires combined.

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Hurricane Bill has strengthened to a Category 4 storm out over the Atlantic. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters say the storm is expected to strengthen some more during the next 24 hours and that interests in the Leeward Islands and Bermuda should monitor the progress of Bill. Current tracks put Bill passing between Bermuda and the U.S. mainland this weekend and then moving up towards Canada. Early this morning, the center of Bill was located about 460 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. To put it in context, a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale denotes a storm with sustained winds of 131-155 miles per hour. If a storm of this strength makes landfall extremely dangerous winds causing devastating damage are expected. A storm of this strength would cause extensive damage to properties and windborne debris could injure or kill. Most trees will be snapped or […]

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After a slow start to the Atlantic hurricane season, three named storms, including the first hurricane of the 2009 season are now in play. Hurricane Bill with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph was located about 1160 miles east of the Lesser Antilles early this morning. National Hurricane Center forecasters say Bill is moving quickly toward the west-northwest at 22 mph and that strengthening is forecast in the next day or so. Bill could become a major hurricane by Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Claudette (now a tropical depression) became the first storm to make U.S. landfall on the Florida Panhandle early this morning, though it was not expected to cause significant flooding or wind damage. Tropical Depression Ana was also moving through the northeastern Caribbean though forecasters said it was likely to dissipate later today. Check out I.I.I. hurricane facts and stats. Check out I.I.I. information on flood insurance.

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