U.S. to be a “weather-ready” nation as the federal government takes measures to guard against destructive weather

To date, the cost of natural disasters befalling the U.S. has reached $35 billion. The year is not yet over and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts several turbulent storms crowding the horizon. While there can be no guarantee whether these storms will actually come to pass, the federal government is not willing to suffer more losses at the hands of nature. NOAA, along with the National Weather Service, is now tasked with making the nation “weather-ready.” The initiative aims to provide protection to communities throughout the nation…

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Reinsurance industry’s future is stormy, may be at risk in the event of a major natural disaster

The global reinsurance industry is under enormous pressure to quickly recover from the calamitous events that happened all over the world earlier in the year. Natural catastrophes have taken a massive toll on insurance companies worldwide, and as these companies hemorrhage money, so too do reinsurers as they pour funds into these companies to keep them afloat. While the severity of disasters occurring earlier in the year has not been overtly cataclysmic, the frequency in which they occurred has put strain on a somewhat unstable global economy. Now, insurance and…

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Higher reinsurance rates predicted

Despite record losses in the first quarter of 2011 and a hurricane season predicted to be exceedingly active, the reinsurance industry is in good spirits. While several insurance companies are dreading hurricanes reaching land, reinsurers expect that one storm causing extensive losses could mark the turning point of the insurance pricing cycle toward their favor. This would mean that higher reinsurance rates, a fact that would go a long way in helping the industry recover from a disastrous first quarter. Henry Keeling, CEO of Guy Carpenter’s International operations, recently attended…

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Taking a look at the reinsurance market pulse as we head into hurricane season

We are now on the cusp of hurricane season. Storm predictions have called for “above average” activity this year; just as we roll out of record setting tornado activity over the last two months. The cushion of excess capacity is gone or nearly gone for most insurers and reinsurers. One more natural disaster could be the tipping point that leads to the turn in the (insurance) pricing cycle. We know capacity is just a part of the many aspects to take into account when evaluating the reinsurance sector. However, the…

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