winter storm

The record snowfall which affected Japan during the month of February is expected to be largest insurance industry loss event of the month and led total insured catastrophe losses for the month of February 2014 over $1 billion, according to Impact Forecasting.

Estimates of insurance industry losses caused by the U.S. winter storm known as the ‘Polar Vortex’, which impacted much of the country from January 5th to the 8th 2014, already exceed $1.5 billion according to Property Claim Services (PCS).

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said today that, at the current levels of insurance industry loss estimate, the financial impact of recent UK floods appears unlikely to result in any insurer rating downgrades.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment manager Credit Suisse has issued an estimate for insured losses from the recent UK floods, saying that the insured loss from the UK flooding event could reach $2 billion or higher.

The procession of severe European windstorms continues to impact the UK and northern Europe, while severe flooding across the UK and northern France worsens, with financial losses for the insurance and reinsurance industry now rising fast.

Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe modelling arm of reinsurance broker Aon Benfield, has said that it expects the insured loss toll from January’s severe spells of winter weather in the U.S. will be over $1.6 billion.

Winter storms are a covered peril in a number of outstanding catastrophe bond transactions currently. With the U.S. having suffered from a number of severe spells of winter weather in recent weeks, losses are mounting and some bonds may begin to look exposed.

The winter storm season in Europe looks set to add additional pressure to any insurers and reinsurers that are already feeling the pinch due to declining property catastrophe renewal rates, as losses from European windstorm and flooding start to mount.

Insured losses to residential, commercial, industrial properties and their contents and to automobiles from the U.S. winter storm which struck on February 1st – 2nd could reach as much as $1.4 billion according to risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide. AIR estimated anything between $790m and $1.4 billion, we believe it’s likely to be in the […]

Aon Benfield has issued a briefing on uncommon European winter storm tracks derived from research with the University of Cologne. The briefing hints at a lower total number of events in the future but shows intense storms moving across the North and Baltic seas on a similar path to windstorm Kyril.