NU Online News Service, May 4, 3:12 p.m. EDT--U.S. property-casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses an estimated $2.1 billion for insured property-loss claims from eight catastrophes in the first quarter, according to preliminary estimates by the Property Claims Services unit of the Jersey City-based Insurance Services Office.
The loss figure is the second costliest since the first quarter of 1996 when the industry suffered losses of $2.6 billion. First-quarter catastrophe losses in the year-ago period were $1.04 billion.
PCS estimated that the eight catastrophes will generate 535,000 claims from policyholders in 28 states--61 percent of which are personal property, 14 percent commercial property and 25 percent vehicle claims.
The quarter's costliest catastrophe was the late March thunderstorms that pummeled the south and east coasts for an estimated $655 million in losses.
Texas, at $565 million, headed the list of the five most severely affected states, followed by California at $275 million, Georgia at $220 million, Alabama at $150 million, and Pennsylvania at $120 million.
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