Insurers Will Pay $11.5 Billion in Third-Quarter Catastrophe Claims, Says ISO’s Property Claim Services Unit

U.S. property and casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $11.5 billion for third-quarter property losses resulting from a total of 11 catastrophes in 22 states — the fourth-largest insured property loss in a third quarter since 1998, according to preliminary analysis by ISO's Property Claim Services (PCS) unit (Jersey City).

PCS estimates the 11 catastrophes of third-quarter 2008 generated 1.7 million claims. Of the 11 catastrophes, six were caused by severe weather (wind, hail, tornadoes, and flooding) and five were caused by tropical systems. The 22 affected states ranged from New Mexico to North Dakota to Virginia. Presently, the five states with the greatest insured losses are Texas ($6.4 billion), Louisiana ($1.9 billion), Ohio ($1.2 billion), Kentucky ($0.4 billion), and Illinois ($0.37 billion).

Through the first three quarters of 2008, PCS has declared 36 catastrophes. Those catastrophes have caused an estimated $22.1 billion of insured property damage and resulted in approximately 3.7 million claims. An estimated 2.5 million personal lines claims accounted for $14.5 billion of property damage, while 356,000 commercial lines claims cost an estimated $5.4 billion, and 840,000 vehicle claims cost insurers $2.2 billion.

ISO's PCS unit defines a catastrophe as an event that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a significant number of policyholders and insurers.

Peggy Bresnick Kendler has been a writer for 30 years. She has worked as an editor, publicist and school district technology coordinator. During the past decade, Bresnick Kendler has worked for UBM TechWeb on special financialservices technology-centered ... View Full Bio