2020 Atlantic hurricane season

The continuation of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic into the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is set to compound challenges for insurance, reinsurance and ILS capacity providers this year, according to Fitch Ratings.

Tropical storm Bertha has formed off the coast of South Carolina to become the second named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and relatively unusually the second to form before the official start of the season on June 1st.

Hurricane loss events that impact a particularly widespread area, even with lower wind speeds, could be the catastrophes that see a much greater degree of loss amplification and inflation due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to Karen Clark & Company.

The 2020 Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane season is forecast to have a 60% chance of “above-normal” levels of activity by NOAA, with the agency calling for between 6 and 10 hurricanes to form over the coming months.

The United Kingdom’s weather forecaster the Met Office, the national meteorological service for the UK, has joined calls for an above average level of hurricane activity to occur during the 2020 Atlantic tropical storm season with its long-range forecast for the season ahead.

Tropical storm Arthur, the first named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, formed at the weekend off the coast of Florida as an early reminder of the months to come. Arthur remains a weak tropical storm and is expected to near the North Carolina coast but then curve out to sea.

The first tropical or subtropical storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is seen as likely to form and be officially named in the coming day or so, somewhere between Florida and the north Bahamas, with storm Arthur set to provide an early start to this year’s season.

Catastrophe risk modelling specialist RMS has said that a hurricane striking the United States while pandemic restrictions remain in place could end up inflating the ultimate insurance and reinsurance industry loss by up to 20%.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season looks increasingly like it will be a season to watch for insurance, reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) interests, as the latest outlook forecasts to emerge raise the number of tropical storms and hurricanes expected during the season even further.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season could see activity levels that are around 25% above the long-term norm, according to Tropical Storm Risk which has increased its forecast number of storms and hurricanes in its latest update.