Japan, Global Catastrophe Losses, Trends and the Impact on Insurance and Reinsurance Markets

This PowerPoint report, presented by Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, at the NAMIC Personal Lines Seminar, provides a summary of the March 11 Japan Earthquake other recent major global catastrophes, with a focus on the potential impacts of large global catastrophe losses on U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance and reinsurance markets. In the midst of these events, the presentation looks at take-up rates for earthquake coverage in the California and New Madrid markets. A reinsurance market overview, with an emphasis on capital and capacity, underwriting performance and the insurance cycle and the importance of reinsurance in large scale catastrophes is also included. Other sections offer a historical analysis of earthquakes in Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere; a global catastrophe loss overview; and a U.S. catastrophe loss review, covering insured losses and an outlook for the 2011 hurricane season. The report concludes with a P/C profitability overview and an outlook at how the economic situation will affect the P/C insurance industry.