Image courtesy of NOAA
Deadly hurricanes threaten U.S. coast
Any superstitious reinsurers who thought that cancelling the Rendez-Vous would de-activate the hurricane season have been disappointed.
By Garry Booth, Contributing Editor
Multiple major loss events are often a talking point at the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous and this year is no different, despite the physical meeting being cancelled. With four substantial tropical storm systems brewing off the Gulf Coast this week, reinsurers could be forgiven wishing the hurricanes were as virtual as their renewal meetings.
At the time of going to press, the slow-moving category 2 windstorm Hurricane Sally was churning slowly up the Gulf coast, knocking out the power in areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Forecasters and agencies across those states warned residents that they could expect “historic” flooding.
Sally made landfall near Gulf Shores around 4:45 a.m. with sustained winds of 105 mph and heavy rain. Although it was downgraded by 8 a.m. CT, with winds at 90 mph, its slow pace (around 3 mph) means some areas could receive up to 35 inches by storm's end.
Images from news agencies showed streets turned into rivers in Pensacola, Fla.
In addition to Sally, there are currently three other tropical cyclones – Paulette, Teddy and Vicky – churning in the Atlantic Ocean basin. If only one more storm is officially named – Wilfred – meteorologists will start calling new storms after the Greek alphabet.
While Vicky is expected to weaken, the National Hurricane Center has warned that Paulette and Teddy will strengthen. Now a cat 2 hurricane, Teddy could build to cat 4, the NHC says on its website.
This conveyor belt of windstorms has followed on from Hurricane Laura, which blasted the Gulf of Mexico at the end of August, causing insured damages estimated at around $8bn.
It’s a case of déjà vu for Rendez-Vous regulars. In 2005, reinsurers convened in Monte Carlo days after Hurricane Katrina had visited biblical flooding on New Orleans, culminating in record insured losses of $86bn (adjusted). Hard on Katrina’s heels came Rita, which cost insurers $13.48bn and then Wilma ($15.77bn).
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck days before the Rendez-Vous, leaving insurers with a bill for around $20bn. Irma (10 September) and Maria (19 September) followed, producing total insured losses of $92bn for what went down in claims history as the HIM trio.
