Hurricane Katrina could be most damaging ever: insurance industry - Yahoo! News
Hurricane Katrina could be most damaging ever: insurance industry - Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Insurance damages from Hurricane Katrina could be the most severe in US history, an industry expert said as the powerful storm slammed into Louisiana.
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Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, said there was an outside chance that Katrina could top payouts that followed Hurricane Andrew, which in August 2002 caused nearly 21 billion dollars in damages in today's money.
"There are estimates out there ranging from 12 to 25 billion," he told AFP.
"What we're looking at is certainly one of the top two or three most expensive storms in history."
Insurance customers should get used to higher premiums for decades to come because of intensified hurricane activity, Hartwig said.
"Insurance premiums have already been rising for people who live along the Gulf (of Mexico) and the southeast Atlantic coast, in part because of what happened last year with four storms that produced about 23 billion dollars in losses altogether," he said.
"But it's also because meteorologists around the world say we're on the leading edge of a several-decade period when hurricanes are likely to become more frequent and more intense," he added.
Hartwig said that independently of whatever impact global warming is having on weather patterns, hurricane activity fluctuates around a 30-to-40-year cycle.
"And beginning a few years back, we seem to have entered into one of the more severe parts of the cycle. It's likely to last several decades, certainly into the 2020s and maybe into the 2030s," he said.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Insurance damages from Hurricane Katrina could be the most severe in US history, an industry expert said as the powerful storm slammed into Louisiana.
ADVERTISEMENT
Explore homes by area, price range, bedrooms and bathrooms.
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SelectAlaskaAlabamaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutWashington D.C.DelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIowaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMassachusettsMarylandMaineMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNevadaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaVermontWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, said there was an outside chance that Katrina could top payouts that followed Hurricane Andrew, which in August 2002 caused nearly 21 billion dollars in damages in today's money.
"There are estimates out there ranging from 12 to 25 billion," he told AFP.
"What we're looking at is certainly one of the top two or three most expensive storms in history."
Insurance customers should get used to higher premiums for decades to come because of intensified hurricane activity, Hartwig said.
"Insurance premiums have already been rising for people who live along the Gulf (of Mexico) and the southeast Atlantic coast, in part because of what happened last year with four storms that produced about 23 billion dollars in losses altogether," he said.
"But it's also because meteorologists around the world say we're on the leading edge of a several-decade period when hurricanes are likely to become more frequent and more intense," he added.
Hartwig said that independently of whatever impact global warming is having on weather patterns, hurricane activity fluctuates around a 30-to-40-year cycle.
"And beginning a few years back, we seem to have entered into one of the more severe parts of the cycle. It's likely to last several decades, certainly into the 2020s and maybe into the 2030s," he said.
posted by Marcel at 9:27 AM
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