Reinsurance companies face tremendous losses

Last year, the reinsurance sector was battered down by huge losses resulting from natural disasters. The disasters that lead to the enormous insured losses included the earthquakes in New Zealand, the flooding in Thailand and Australia, and the tsunami following the earthquake in Japan. These were all top events discussed in the most recent survey results from the Reinsurance Association of America. Catastrophe losses considered, the combined ratios for most reinsurers within the group were reported to have fallen. According to the executive director covering property and casualty insurance at…

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Understanding what is – and is not – covered by tornado insurance

The surge of destructive and deadly twisters last week has put the spotlight on tornado insurance once more, as consumers attempt to understand the type of coverage that it will provide, including why many homeowners are still forced to pay repair bills related to tornado damage regardless of their policies. The Insurance Information Institute has said that the majority of insurance policies for homeowners, businesses, and vehicles will include tornadoes as an element of their standard severe weather and wind coverage. Typically speaking, renters’ and homeowners’ insurance will cover the…

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Catastrophic tornados trample the South and Midwest, claiming 33 lives

An outbreak of deadly and devastating tornadoes wrought havoc in many Southern and Midwest states over the weekend. The disasters began on Friday last week. The tornadoes struck a major blow to four states: Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Alabama. The people in these states had little warning of the storms, which manifested at an alarmingly fast pace. The tornadoes quickly grew in intensity and caused a significant amount of damage to everything in their path. When the winds finally calmed after hours of fury, approximately 33 people were found dead.…

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States hardest hit by tornados in the U.S

The tornadoes that struck the South and Midwest American states this week, leaving 13 people dead and injuring many others, have drawn attention to the risk of twisters once again, following closely on the heels of 2011’s record breaking year for those and other severe weather events. Last year was the deadliest storm season in over three quarters of a century, and thunderstorms and tornadoes brought about approximately $25 billion in uninsured losses. Though the data regarding which states were struck most by tornadoes last year has yet to be…

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2011 disaster losses break records from previous years

This year was one that brought disasters to areas all around the globe, and these catastrophes came with record breaking bills that have left the figures from previous years behind. According to the data from Swiss Re AG, a reinsurance company, the quakes and tsunami in Japan, the earthquakes in New Zealand, the Thailand floods, and the large number of American tornadoes brought a global disaster loss total up to a staggering $350 billion. The tremendous amount of devastation brought production at factories to a grinding halt and cut off…

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