Hurricane

The four leading modelling agencies - RMS, Air Worldwide, Karen Clark and CoreLogic - broadly agree wind-driven insured losses from Hurricane Harvey will fall in the low billions of dollars.

Demand for industry loss warranty (ILW) cover on Hurricane Harvey is moving up to higher trigger levels as fears grow over the extent of private market flooding claims.

Forecasters are closely watching Irma, which currently in the open Atlantic, has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane.

The major continental carriers and dominant catastrophe writers are likely to be among the key reinsurers of the regional and specialist insurers exposed to Hurricane Harvey claims.

Hurricane Harvey will impact reinsurer earnings but is unlikely to spur a reversal in softening pricing, analysts said.

Fitch Ratings said that anticipated losses from the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) $1bn reinsurance programme will be manageable for the carriers involved.

At least five Texan refineries and industrial complexes have been closed or damaged as a result of Hurricane Harvey, as the (re)insurance market keeps an eye out for major potential direct and facultative exposures from the storm.

JLT has estimated that flooding costs incurred from hurricane Harvey could eclipse the $16bn incurred by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Harvey could cause more economic losses than Superstorm Sandy with an estimated $90bn of damages, catastrophe modeller RMS said.

Lender-placed property policies are more exposed to flood claims from Hurricane Harvey than standard residential policies, as Credit Suisse analyst John Nadel highlighted in a note on Assurant's exposure to the disaster.

AIR Worldwide put insured wind and storm surge losses from Hurricane Harvey at $1.2bn to $2.3bn, joining low single-digit estimates from other modelling agencies.

There was some livecat industry loss warranty (ILW) trading in the run-up to Hurricane Harvey, with activity focused on trades at the $10bn loss level.