Catastrophe losses in 2011 will reach the $1 billion mark for American Family Insurance.
The Madison, Wisc.-based insurer of homes, automobiles, businesses and farms says it has paid about $100 million to victims of a destructive tornado in Joplin, Mo. last May.
The Joplin tornado destroyed 400 homes and damaged hundreds of others. Policyholders filed 2,300 property, auto and commercial claims.
Severe-weather events heavily affected many of the insurer's top states for business, according to Highline Data, a part of Summit Business Media, publisher of NU.
About 15.3 percent of American Family's direct-premiums written come from Missouri. Other than the Joplin twister, a tornado in St. Louis and a windstorm in Kansas City—both in April—generated more than 21,000 claims and claim payments of $28.5 million and $76.4 million, respectively.
The insurer's home state is its top state for business, accounting for nearly 17 percent of its direct-premiums written. La Crosse, Wisc. saw a tornado in May, and hailstorms have also hit different parts of the state.
According to Highline Data, American Family was the top homeowners' insurer in Wisconsin with a 22.9 percent market share.
In Missouri, American Family is second to State Farm for homeowners' insurance with a 16.7 percent market share.
As of July 31, American Family has paid $963.5 million in claims and expects the total to reach $1 billion after payments in August.
This is the third year American Family has reached the $1 billion mark in catastrophe losses. The other years were in 2006 and 2008.
The insurer says it paid out $906.3 million for claims in 2010.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
