Losses Across the Globe
ial performance of P&C players, push market closer to a hardening
quakes and tornadoes were joined
by summer wildfires in Texas—and
then a freak October snowstorm
in the Northeast, severe enough
that Moody’s labeled it a “major
capital event” for insurers.
The conversation around
the importance of supply-chain
insurance that the Japanese quake
helped spark only intensified when
fall floodwaters inundated much of
Thailand—including nearly 10,000
factories that play a critical role in
supplying parts to the automotive
and computer industries.
The collective toll on
underwriters was terrible. First-half
net income for U.S. property-and-casualty insurers, for example,
plummeted 67 percent compared
to the same period in 2010. The
second quarter was particularly
brutal for domestic carriers with a
heavy concentration in personal
lines, as the twisters in Alabama,
Arkansas, Oklahoma and, most
E IN A YEAR PLAGUED by a seemingly endless flurry of disasters,
the Joplin tornado still stands out as the top U.S. P&C news event
of 2011. NU was on the scene, embedded with State Farm as its
agents and claims professionals responded to the calamity. Digital
Subscribers: Click “Play” to watch exclusive on-the-ground footage.
MAJOR CATASTROPHES
THROUGH THIRD QUARTER
(Losses in Millions)
DAtE
EvENt
Dec.–Jan. Flood
February cyclone
February Earthquake
March Earthquake/tsunami
April tornadoes
Apr.–Jun. Floods
May tornadoes
June Earthquake
August riots
Aug.–Sept. Hurricane irene
Apr.–Sept. texas Wildfires
September typhoon roke
LocAtioN
memorably, Joplin, Mo., flattened
homes and crushed cars.
Allstate experienced more than
$2.3 billion in catastrophe losses
from 30 events in that April-June
timeframe. Liberty Mutual also
topped the billion-dollar mark in
2Q, with $1.3 billion in catastrophe
losses. By September 23, home-and-auto giant State Farm had
processed just under one million
claims—970,000—for the year and
had paid policyholders $5 billion.
Not surprisingly, the cumulative
hit of all these catastrophes did cause
an overall hardening for property
exposures—with Australia, New
Zealand and Japan seeing prices
increase by double-digit percentages.
And while none of the events
in the singular were enough to
end the soft market (see caption,
opposite page), the aggregate effect
of the losses does have the market
poised for a general hardening as
we enter 2012. NU
COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Photo by Bryant Rousseau
(1) Based on property losses including, if applicable, agricultural, offshore, marine,
aviation and National Flood Insurance Program losses in the United States and may
differ from data shown elsewhere. NA=Data not available.
Source: Marsh Inc. – Global Insurance Market Rate Survey Q3 2011
J NEW ZEALAND Quake Loss
Estimates: $3.5B-$12B (March 7)
J DEVASTATION IN JAPAN: Will
the Magnitude 9.0 Quake Shift
the Market? (March 21)
J CRUEL TWIST: Tornadoes Leave
Trail of Devastation & Death From
Oklahoma to North Carolina
(April 25)
J ON THE GROUND in Joplin as
State Farm Responds (June 13)
J CATASTROPHES TAKE THEIR
Toll on Insurers’ 2Q Results
(Aug. 1)
J HURRICANE IRENE Strikes East
Coast; Floods Worse Than Winds
Sept. 5)
J INSURERS REPORT MORE
Billion-Dollar Weather Losses as
Disasters Continue (Oct. 3)
J U.S. P&C FIRST-HALF NET
Income Dives 67%
(Oct. 10)
J THAILAND FLOODS Could Cost
Insurers Billions (Nov. 7)
J 3Q EARNINGS: Catastrophes
Continue to Plague
Insurers’ Results (Nov. 7)
PropertyCasualty360.com
December 19/26, 2011 | National Underwriter Property & Casualty | 27
