All posts by Jeff Dunsavage

Catastrophes, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Resilience

Atypical Wildfire Activity? Of Course — It’s 2020

August 24, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

If you need any further evidence of the anomalous nature of the year 2020, you can take a look at California’s wildfires. Two of the three largest fires in California history rage across the state, alongside about 600 others, burning more than 1.3 million acres — an area about the size of Delaware — and forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate.

Those of us who aren’t directly affected may have become jaded enough to think, “More fires in the West. That’s normal.”

But as Janet Ruiz, Triple-I’s California-based director of strategic communications, explains, “We’ve had a significant number of large wildfires since 2015, but this year is anything but normal.”

Your first clue might be the alphabet soup of names applied to this year’s blazes: LNU, CZU, SCU. You might remember Northern California’s major wildfires in recent years — the Camp Fire, the Carr Fire, Tubbs, Ferguson — and wonder why this year’s don’t have similarly straightforward names.

According to California fire officials, it’s because the number of fires has required them to be grouped together in “complexes”:

The LNU Lightning Complex in the northeast Bay Area, including Sonoma, Napa, Solano, and Lake counties.

The CZU Lightning Complex in the western and southern Bay Area, including San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

The SCU Lightning Complex in the eastern and southeastern Bay Area, including Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and neighboring San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

“We only group fires like that when we have a lightning siege as such,” Brice Bennet, a public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The last major lightning siege was in 2008.

“Once the fires are grouped into a complex,” the Chronicle explains, “they’re managed so fire managers can assess all the different fires within each one and share resources across the greatest need — life being first, and property second. That’s where the prefixes come in. Those monikers are geographical locators based on Cal Fire administrative unit codes.”

Ruiz explained that many of the fires since 2015 were caused by human activity, rather than nature.

“Authorities have worked hard and invested a lot of money to mitigate those causes,” she said. “Then along comes this unpredictable, unpreventable abundance of lightning strikes.”

Fewer firefighters: Thanks, COVID-19

The daunting number of blazes coincides with a reduced availability of firefighters, courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In past seasons, a lot of help came from inmates recruited to assist in firefighting,” Ruiz said. “Many of these have been released because of COVID-19 and therefore aren’t available.”

Less warning, preparation paramount

Lightning is a universal metaphor for random ill fortune, and the chaotic causation of California’s 2020 fires has affected how authorities communicate with residents about impending threats.

“Normally you’d get warnings about approaching fires, followed, if necessary, by a mandatory evacuation order,” Ruiz said. But last week, when Ruiz was evacuated, “We didn’t get an advisory – we were just told to go.”

Wisely, she and her husband keep “to go” bags near their front door and were able to leave within 10 minutes of receiving the order.

A year characterized by a global pandemic, historic civil unrest, an “extremely active” hurricane season, a destructive derecho – not to mention the more bizarre entomological offerings of murder hornets, zombie cicadas, and invasive “jumping” earthworms – is no time to forgo caution where wildfire safety is concerned.

Ruiz reminds us that this fire season is still young, and more and worse may be in store.

Laura and Marco Set Sights on Northern Gulf Coast

August 24, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

Tropical storms Laura and Marco are expected to hit the northern Gulf Coast within a few days of each other. Marco was a hurricane on Sunday but has weakened considerably due to strong southwesterly wind shear.

While Marco’s wind threat has diminished, heavy rain of three to six inches, with small areas potentially receiving 10 inches of rainfall are possible along the north-central and northeast Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Storm surge of two to four feet also is possible from Morgan City, LA, to Ocean Springs, MS. Marco is expected to make landfall later today in southeast Louisiana.

Following close behind is Tropical Storm Laura, which forecasters say may intensify to a Category 2 hurricane by the time it makes landfall along the northwestern Gulf Coast.

Residents along the Louisiana coast were urged to prepare for hurricane conditions, and Gov. John Bel Edwards called on them to begin sheltering Sunday evening.

“If you’re in duress and need help, we’re going to get to you as soon as possible,” Edwards said at the state’s Emergency Operations Center, where officials were tracking and preparing for the storms. “But as soon as possible may be longer than it normally is.”

The National Weather Service warned Sunday that the stronger Laura could bring more significant impacts across southern Louisiana because of its potential for higher winds and storm surge and because preparing for Laura will likely be complicated by lingering impacts from Marco.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday declared a state of disaster for 23 counties and requested assistance from the federal government. If Laura were to make landfall in Texas, it could mark the second significant disaster during the 2020 hurricane season for Texas, following Hurricane Hanna dumping more than 15 inches of rain on South Texas in late July as the region was a deadly coronavirus hotspot. The COVID-19 pandemic remains pervasive in Texas, killing at least 200 people every day for the last three weeks, and Abbott reminded the public on Sunday to adhere to mask wearing, social distancing, and other health guidelines.

South Texas cities were the first to deal with a hurricane during the coronavirus pandemic, tweaking shelter practices to have adequate distancing between evacuees and outfitting first responders with protective equipment in order to follow safe coronavirus health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Residents are strongly encouraged to prepare for these and other storms during this “extremely active” hurricane season – particularly with the additional challenge of COVID-19.

Hurricane preparedness guidance is available from Triple-I here.

Insurance considerations

Wind-caused property damage is covered under standard homeowners, renters, and business insurance policies. Renters’ insurance covers a renter’s possessions while the landlord insures the structure.

Property damage to a home, a renter’s possessions, and a business – resulting from a flood – is generally covered under FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies, if the homeowner, renter, or business has purchased one. Several private insurers also offer flood insurance.

Private-passenger vehicles damaged or destroyed by either wind or flooding are covered under the optional comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. drivers choose to purchase comprehensive coverage.

Legal Environment

Lawyers’ Group Approves Best Practices to Guide Litigation Funding

August 19, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

The policymaking arm of the American Bar Association (ABA) recently approved a set of best practices for litigation funding arrangements.

Litigation funding is an increasingly popular technique in which investors finance lawsuits in which they are not a party against companies – often insurers – in return for a share in the settlement. It contributes to “social inflation” – rising litigation costs that affect insurers’ claim payouts, loss ratios, and, ultimately, how much policyholders pay for coverage.

The resolution – adopted by the ABA’s House of Delegates by a vote of 366 to 10 – lists the issues lawyers should consider before entering into agreements with outside funders. While it avoids taking a position on the use of such funding, it recommends that lawyers detail all arrangements in writing and advises them to ensure that the client retains control.

“The litigation should be managed and controlled by the party and the party’s counsel,” the report says. “Limitations on a third-party funder’s involvement in, or direct or indirect control of or input into (or receipt of notice of), either day-to-day or broader litigation management and on all key issues (such as strategy and settlement) should be addressed in the funding agreement.”

It also cautions attorneys against giving funders advice about the merits of a case, warning that this could raise concerns about the waiver of attorney-client privilege and expose lawyers to claims that they have an obligation to update this guidance as the litigation develops.

Opponents of litigation funding have pushed for rules requiring mandatory disclosure of funding arrangements during litigation. The resolution doesn’t take a position on whether disclosures to judges or adversaries should be required, but it urges lawyers to be prepared for the possibility of funding arrangements being scrutinized.

The launch of a new $200 million fund by Pravati Capital this week brings litigation finance firms over the $1 billion mark for funds raised in 2020, according to Bloomberg Law.

Additional Reading:

SOCIAL INFLATION AND COVID-19

IRC STUDY: SOCIAL INFLATION IS REAL, AND IT HURTS CONSUMERS, BUSINESSES

FLORIDA’S AOB CRISIS: A SOCIAL-INFLATION MICROCOSM

Business Insurance, Business Risk, Emerging Risks

U.K. Business Interruption Litigation Seems Unlikely to Affect U.S. Insurers

August 13, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates insurers in the United Kingdom, has indicated that it doesn’t believe COVID-19-related losses trigger most business insurance policies because such policies typically require a direct connection between financial loss and physical damage to the insured property.

Think fire, flood, wind, or earthquake damage.

The FCA is now litigating a test case involving policies of eight insurers that don’t require property damage to trigger coverage (Hear a three-minute explainer from the Centers for Better Insurance).

Is this case relevant to U.S. property/casualty insurers? It depends on whom you ask.

The FCA is looking at 17 policy wordings from the eight insurers and asking whether COVID-19 triggers a payout. Based on other policies the regulator has studied, the Financial Times reports, the court’s ruling are “expected to apply to nearly 50 insurers, who sold coverage to 370,000 customers.”

Senior executives from specialist insurance and reinsurance underwriter Hiscox Group warned that the FCA’s eventual findings could drive additional COVID-19 losses to its reinsurance book, Artemis reports.

Tom Baker – an expert in insurance law and policy at the University of Pennsylvania – called the U.K. case a “one-way ratchet” for U.S. insurers.

“If the carriers lose or end up having a lot of coverage, that’s going to be bad for them here” in the United States, Baker said. “I think if the carriers win, the insurance policies [in the U.K.] are really different. They tend to be named-peril, rather than all-risks policies. I think it will be easy to distinguish them.”

Jason Schupp, founder and managing member of Centers for Better Insurance, disagrees that an adverse ruling for U.K. insurers will have much of an effect on their U.S. counterparts.

“In Europe, [FCA] authorization to provide miscellaneous financial loss insurance allows an insurance company to write business interruption insurance that does not require evidence of property damage” to pay a claim, Schupp says. Even though the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union, Schupp says, “U.K. law itself recognizes the miscellaneous financial loss class of insurance.”

What does this mean for pandemic business interruption coverage in the United States? Not much, according to Schupp.

“The outcome of the U.K. litigation is unlikely to be relevant to the dozens – or perhaps hundreds – of business interruption lawsuits making their way through U.S. courts, where the property damage question is front and center,” Schupp says.

He goes on to say that proposals coming out of Europe or the U.K. for pandemic insurance going forward – such as a Lloyd’s framework – contemplate non-property-damage business interruption insurance solutions…. These proposals do not appear compatible with the current U.S. insurance regulatory system.”

A ruling by the FCA is expected in mid-September. Last week, the regulatory body said that, while the case doesn’t address how any resulting claims payments would be calculated, “We may intervene and take further actions where firms do not appear to be meeting our expectations and treating their customers fairly.”

Business Insurance, Business Risk, Legal Environment

Business Interruption vs. Event Cancellation: What’s the Big Difference?

August 12, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

As I’ve written previously, the question of whether business interruption provisions in commercial property insurance apply to COVID-19-related losses has become a major topic of debate during this pandemic. Suits have been filed seeking to establish that policyholders are entitled to coverage for such losses – even when losses associated with infectious disease are specifically excluded in the policy language.

This debate has been muddied in some circles by people confusing business interruption coverage with event cancellation insurance.

Citing the fact that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had its claim paid when it cancelled its annual men’s basketball tournament, as did the All England Lawn Tennis Association when it canceled its Wimbledon event, some wonder why many other businesses’ claims are being rejected.

While superficially similar, these claims couldn’t be more different from the business interruption cases currently being litigated.

Business Interruption: Physical Damage Required

Property insurance covers physical loss or damage to an insured’s property. The business interruption provisions of commercial property policies typically require a direct relationship between a physical loss or damage and the resulting lost income. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) form for commercial property coverage – the basis of many policies – specifies that any covered loss due to “necessary suspension” of operations must be caused by “direct physical loss of or damage to property at premises which are described in the Declarations.”

This is a critical point, as most business losses related to COVID-19 are due to employees and customers remaining absent, supply chain disruptions, and other factors – not to physical damage.

“A property policy may, for example, pay to repair the damage caused by a fire and may cover the loss of business during the reconstruction period,” writes Michael Menapace, a professor of insurance law at Quinnipiac University School of Law and a Triple-I Non-Resident Scholar. “But here’s the rub. Are the business interruptions related to COVID-19 caused by physical damage to property?”

Insurers say no, arguing that “damage to property” requires structural alteration like one would find when, say, a fire destroys the interior of a building or wind damages windows. The virus leaves no visible imprint. Even if remediation is needed – like cleaning mold from metal surfaces – insurers cite cases in which judges have ruled there’s no physical damage from mold if the mold can be cleaned off.

Add to this the fact that most policies exclude coverage for losses related to infectious diseases and it’s hard to imagine U.S. courts finding in favor of the plaintiffs – particularly when pandemic insurance existed well before COVID-19 and was largely ignored by business owners and risk managers.

Event Cancellation Insurance

COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of events from weddings to business conferences to the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Individuals and businesses buy event cancellation insurance against losses resulting from a cancellation due to circumstances beyond their control, including:

Weather or other natural events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, and
Human-caused events such as labor strikes and acts of terrorism.

If a policy is an “all-cause” or otherwise unlimited policy, it could cover cancellations due to COVID-19, particularly if purchased before 2020.

Wimbledon’s organizers were among the few who bought event cancellation insurance that specifically included coverage for losses related to “communicable disease” after the 2003 SARS outbreak. They paid about £25.5 million (US$33 million) in premiums since then and are set to receive around £114 million (US$142 million) for this year’s cancelled tournament, according to GlobalData.

GlobalData said the event still faces a net loss. The total Wimbledon revenue loss is estimated at around £250 million (US$328 million).

The NCAA had a policy for its “March Madness” tournament that had to be cancelled. Its event cancellation policy covered just $270 million, even though the tournament generates more than $800 million a year. The organization reportedly was better prepared for a cancellation several years ago, when it built up savings of nearly $500 million to help mitigate the financial impact of a lost tournament.

“Then, in 2015, new leadership decided to spend more than $400 million of those savings without increasing the NCAA’s insurance coverage by following a questionable theory about the risk of saving that much money,” the Washington Post reports, citing former NCAA employees.

The availability of such coverage without exclusions for infectious disease may be limited or even more expensive in the wake of the current pandemic.

Catastrophes, Coastal Property, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Resilience

I.I.I. Media Tour: What You Need to Know and Do as Hurricane Season Peaks

August 10, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), along with Colorado State University’s atmospheric research scientist Dr. Phil Klotzbach, will be conducting a satellite media tour on Tuesday, August 11, to talk about what may lie ahead for the remainder of the hurricane season.

*Dr. Phil Klotzbach, Colorado State University*

We will be talking with news organizations throughout the U.S. about the steps individuals and businesses in hurricane-prone states need to take to protect their property and possessions with the right type—and amount—of insurance.

The following subject-matter experts will be available for interviews:

Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I)
Dr. Phil Klotzbach, Research Scientist, Colorado State University and a Triple-I Non-Resident Scholar
Laura L. Favinger, Chief Administrative Officer, Triple-I
Mark Friedlander, Director, Corporate Communications, Triple-I

Damage caused by tropical storms and hurricanes can upend lives for months, and sometimes years. Even in the country’s most vulnerable coastal states, individuals and businesses may underestimate their risk or have insufficient insurance coverage, operating without either an evacuation or a business continuity plan.

As the peak of 2020’s already busy Atlantic hurricane season approaches, it’s time to make sure you’re ready.

Nearly 20 media outlets have signed up to participate, and the following stations will be broadcasting live interviews (times are Eastern Standard):

08-11-2020 08:35 am – 08:45 am ET: WRAZ-FOX TV Raleigh-Durham (27) “WRAL’s 8am News on Fox50” Live

08-11-2020 09:20 am – 09:30 am ET: WPBF-ABC TV West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce (36) “WPBF 9AM NEWS” Live

08-11-2020 09:40 am – 09:50 am ET: WBRC-FOX TV Birmingham (Ann and Tusc) (44) “Good Day Alabama” Live

08-11-2020 10:20 am – 10:30 am ET: WTKR-CBS TV Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws (42) “Coast Live ” Live

If you’d like to arrange an interview with our experts, please contact MultiVu Media Relations, 800.653.5313 x3

Business Insurance, Business Risk, Legal Environment, Regulation, Workers Compensation

Legislatures AdvanceCOVID-19-related Bills

August 7, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

As states struggle to identify the best ways to reopen their economies, agencies, and schools from the coronavirus-related lockdown, legislatures have been moving forward legislation to protect them and the people they employ.

Virginia Approves Worker Health & Safety Standard

The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) – the state’s version of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – will enforce a standard that mandates and, in some instances, exceeds guidance issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA, PropertyCasualty360.com reports.

The standard protects employees who raise reasonable concerns about infection control to print, online, social, or other media. It covers most private employers in Virginia, as well as all state and local employees.

The standard also requires building and facility owners to report positive COVID-19 tests to employer tenants. It exempts private and public institutions of higher education with reopening plans certified by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) and public-school divisions that submit reopening plans to the Virginia Department of Education. No such exemptions are provided to private elementary and secondary schools.

In addition to CDC and OSHA guidelines, the standard requires employers to:

Provide flexible sick-leave policies, telework, and staggered shifts when feasible;
Provide handwashing stations and hand sanitizer when feasible;
Assess risk levels of employers and suppliers before entry;
Notify the Virginia Department of Health of positive COVID-19 tests;
Notify VOSH of three or more positive COVID-19 tests within a two-week period;
Assess hazard levels of all job tasks;
Provide COVID-19 training of all employees within 30 days (except for low-hazard places of employment);
Prepare infectious disease preparedness and response plans within 60 days;
Post or present agency-prepared COVID-19 information to all employees; and
Maintain air handling systems in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards.

Special Legislative Session for Tennessee Liability Bill

Weeks after Tennessee’s two legislative chambers failed to come to an agreement on legislation surrounding civil liability for coronavirus, Gov. Bill Lee called the state’s General Assembly to return next week for a special session, The Tennessean reports.

Lee issued an order asking members of the legislature to return to Nashville at 4 p.m. on Aug. 10 to take up the matter, which would extend broad immunity to businesses, schools, and other entities against COVID-19-related lawsuits.

The General Assembly also is expected to take up two other bills it failed to pass before adjourning in June. One would expand medical professionals’ ability to offer telehealth services and encourage insurers to cover those costs. The other would increase penalties for protesters camping and engaging in vandalism at the Capitol. A group of protesters has remained across the street from the Capitol for more than 50 days, resulting in the arrest of some for trespassing and writing messages in chalk.

Nevada Senators Advance Liability Shield Measure

State senators in Nevada, by an overwhelming majority, advanced legislation that would extend COVID-19 liability protections to businesses, nonprofits, schools, and governmental agencies and outlining several measures intended to protect hospitality workers, The Las Vegas Sun reports.

The legislation would extend COVID-19 liability protections to many entities that have “substantially complied with controlling health standards.” Provisions of the bill would sunset either upon the termination of the current state of emergency or in July 2023.

The measure wouldn’t extend to most private health care providers.

“Unease with the bill’s focus on the tourism and gaming industry crossed party lines,” the Sun writes. “Sen. Marcia Washington, D-North Las Vegas, said she was concerned why the bill singled out hospitality workers: ‘I’m here to represent, as far as I’m concerned, everybody, all the workers in the state of Nevada,’ Washington said.”

Marie Neisess, president of the Clark County Education Association, said the bill did nothing to help teachers going back into the classroom this year.

“Even with the best safety measures in place, educators and students will still be at risk,” Neisses said. Putting a bill in place that protects the employer rather than the employee is unacceptable.”

The bill now advances to the Senate floor for final action as lawmakers continue to meet in special session.

“Rebuttable Presumption” for Essential Workers Goes to N.J. Governor

New Jersey may become the next state to enact a law presuming that essential workers who acquire COVID-19 did so on the job, Business Insurance reports.

Lawmakers in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate on Thursday passed S.B. 2380 with a 42-27 vote in the Assembly and a 27-12 vote in the Senate. The bill, introduced in early May, would create a rebuttable presumption for essential workers seeking workers compensation for acquiring COVID-19 on the job during a declared state of emergency.

The bill identifies essential employees as those whose duties are considered essential during an emergency response and recovery operation; public or private sector employees whose duties are essential to the public’s health, safety, and welfare; emergency responders and workers at health-care facilities and those performing jobs that support a health-care facility, such as laundry, research, and hospital food service.

The bill moves to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. If signed into law, the legislation would take effect immediately and be retroactive to March 9. According to Business Insurance, a spokeswoman for Gov. Murphy declined to comment on whether he intended to sign the legislation.

Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Resilience

Isaias Expected to ApproachFlorida This Weekend

July 31, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

Hurricane Isaias is expected to strengthen somewhat, to a strong Category 1 hurricane, as it crosses over the Bahamas Friday and Saturday. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) now forecasts Isaias will come extremely close to the east coast of Florida later this weekend.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the strongest winds in Florida will be felt from Pompano Beach to Palm Bay, where there’s potential for winds from 58 mph to 73 mph. Miami-Dade and most of Broward are predicted to see winds from 39 mph to 57 mph.

The NHC recently posted hurricane watches from north of Deerfield Beach to the Volusia-Brevard County line and forecasts two to four inches of rainfall from south-central to southeastern Florida, with potential totals of six inches. There is also the potential for some storm surge, with exact levels dependent on the future track and intensity of Isaias.

Residents are strongly encouraged to prepare for Isaias and other storms during this above-average hurricane season – particularly with the additional challenge of COVID-19.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said South Floridians should “start to examine what other opportunities or options they may have to be out of South Florida.”

Florida has recently experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases. In preparation for the storm, the Florida Department of Emergency Management has closed all state-run COVID-19 testing sites.

“The more that we can do as individuals and focus on the things we can do to reduce the burden on government will be extremely helpful as the mayor, the county administrator are tackling different new challenges and trying to be innovative to the point where we’re not shutting down government completely, but at the same time, we’re not unnecessarily allowing for hazards and exposures to this virus,” Tony said.

Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Resilience

Isaias Meets COVID-19: South Floridians Advised to Consider Evacuation

July 30, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

South Floridians should “start to examine what other opportunities or options they may have to be out of South Florida,” Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a virtual press conference as a broad area of low pressure looked increasingly likely to turn into Tropical Storm Isaias.

Tropical storm-force gusts could arrive in Florida as early as Friday night, but Saturday is much more likely, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Miami.

Tony said the biggest hurdle officials anticipate during the 2020 hurricane season is the ability to effectively maintain social distance while taking in large numbers of people at county storm shelters. Florida has recently experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases.

In preparation for the storm, the Florida Department of Emergency Management has said it will close all state-run COVID-19 testing sites at the end of business day today.

The storm knocked out power to more than 300,000 clients across Puerto Rico, according to the island’s Electric Power Authority. Minor damage was reported elsewhere in the island, where tens of thousands of people still use tarps as roofs over homes damaged by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

Industry Financials

Triple-I Chief Economist: P/C Industry Strong, Despite Surplus Drop

July 29, 2020 Jeff Dunsavage Leave a comment

Despite its largest-ever quarterly decline in policyholder surplus, the property/casualty insurance industry remained profitable in the first quarter of 2020 and remains financially strong, according to a commentary by Triple-I’s senior vice president and chief economist, Dr. Steven Weisbart.

Policyholder surplus – the amount insurers hold in reserve to ensure that they can keep their promises to pay policyholder claims – dropped by $75.9 billion in the quarter as the stock market suffered a major downturn, according to a report by Verisk, a data and analytics provider, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA).

Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect many insurers and will likely impact underwriting results for the second quarter and the rest of the year.

“Thanks to continued premium growth and positive investment results, the industry turned in a profitable first quarter,” Weisbart says. “Most of its investment income comes from high-quality corporate and municipal bonds, which are not as volatile as investments in stock.”

The industry’s combined ratio – a widely used profitability metric – was 94.9 in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 95.6 for the same period in 2019. A lower ratio indicates better performance.

Combined ratios for insurers writing commercial lines coverage (excluding mortgage and financial guaranty) deteriorated 1.3 percentage points, to 97.7 percent. Personal lines insurers’ ratio improved 2.7 percentage points, to 92.2 percent. Insurers writing balanced books of business posted a combined ratio of 95.8, 1.3 percentage points better than in the prior year’s first quarter.

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