disaster losses News

Wildfires Have Burned 3 Times More of California to Date Than in 2017

California’s wildfires are now burning through land at a pace more than three times faster than last year’s blazes. About 4,200 fires have charred 726,000 acres (294,000 hectares) in the state so far this year, according to figures from the …

Disaster Losses Cut Q3 Berkshire Hathaway Profits by 43%

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday that its third-quarter profit fell 43 percent because of a $1.4 billion insurance underwriting loss from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and earthquakes in Mexico. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate owns Geico and several …

Aon Reports 2014 Disaster Losses About 50% Than 10 Year Average

Insured losses from global natural disasters during the six-month period ending June 30, 2014 reached $22 billion. That compares to $27 billion in the first half of 2013 and is approximately 19 percent below the 10-year average of $27 billion, …

Pricing Power Evades Insurers Despite Losses

Despite more than $100 billion in disaster losses around the world this year, insurers are not yet experiencing a broad and sustained increase in pricing power, defying predictions from a year ago that even half those losses would be enough …

Chubb Q3 Disaster Losses Up to $475 Million

Property insurer Chubb Corp Wednesday warned it would report up to $475 million in pretax catastrophe losses in the third quarter, most of it coming from late August’s Hurricane Irene. Chubb said $300 million to $375 million of the $400 …

As Disaster Losses Mount, U.S. Seeks to Make Country ‘Weather Ready’

Noting that the U.S. has experienced $35 billion in economic losses due to disasters already this year, the federal government is embarking upon a national plan it hopes will save lives and protect property from severe weather events. The goal …

Nationwide Profit Down Due to $1.5 Billion Disaster Losses

Insurance company Nationwide Mutual said profits in the first half of the year fell by more than half after paying claims, like the rest of the industry, for some of the worst tornadoes in U.S. history. Privately held Nationwide, one …