On Friday, Hurricane Harvey developed into a Category 4 and made landfall near Rockport, Texas. In addition to direct losses, the storm is causing heavy rainfall and storm surge-related losses along coastal Texas.
While the exact cost of insured damages will take some time to quantify, primary insurers will face the largest effect from Harvey, with regionally focused carriers most vulnerable given their geographic concentrations, Moody's Investors Service said in a statement Monday morning. "The Southeast is a peak catastrophe zone in the U.S. for reinsurers, and those with exposure to Texas are at risk of incurring meaningful losses, although we expect those losses to be manageable relative to earnings," Moody's added.
Moody's then identified the top 10 homeowners' and commercial property insurers in the Lone Star State, listed by direct premiums written.
Related: Harvey's destruction: Unprecedented flooding replaces high winds [slideshow]
|Top 10 Homeowners', Commercial Insurers in Texas
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(Photo: Moody's Investors Service)
(Photo: Moody's Investors Service)
Related: Hurricane Harvey barrels in: How homeowners can protect their property
|Looking ahead
"We expect that these large national carriers will have the capacity to withstand a significant event based on careful monitoring of their coastal exposure, geographic diversification, high quality reinsurance protection and strong capital bases owing to a decade free of severe catastrophes," Moody's added.
A significant share of insured losses will derive from wind and rain for areas that were not directly hit by the hurricane. Commercial lines could face losses from flooding; business interruption losses could also be significant, especially if there are extended power outages.
Forecasters expect Harvey to stall over the area, causing torrential rain and severe flooding. Harvey highlights the significant exposure that Texas and the Southeast face to hurricanes.
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Denny Jacob
Denny Jacob is an associate editor for NU PropertyCasualty360. Contact him at [email protected].
