Issues

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is now projected to face Hurricane Harvey-related losses of as much as $10bn, underestimates annual claims by $1bn even in years without major catastrophes, a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study shows.

Dealing with the aftermath of Harvey and working on how to keep the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in business past the end of this month will likely take centre stage as Congress returns from its August recess.

Determining the root cause of Hurricane Harvey losses and identifying whether claims should fall to the private sector or the state will create a huge legal conundrum in the wake of the storm, lawyers have said.

The bulk of US nationwide insurers are not expected to attach their catastrophe treaty reinsurance covers as a result of Hurricane Harvey, although the market is monitoring some companies more closely for possible cessions.

Devastation caused by Harvey-related flooding is set to trigger a sharp deterioration in Texas personal auto underwriting results, which had already been driving some reinsurers away from the business.

Lloyd's exposure to Hurricane Harvey through binders and cat treaty business is prompting questions about whether the market could be set to record its first full-year underwriting loss since 2011.

The London binders market is expecting a mixed claims experience from Hurricane Harvey due to a Texan market which is hugely fragmented in terms of MGAs, coverages and capacity providers.

The London property direct and facultative (D&F) market is braced for a slew of claims stemming from Texan habitational accounts in the aftermath of Harvey.

From the flood-drenched streets of Houston to the casinos of Monte Carlo, one question on every energy underwriter's mind right now is what impact Harvey will have on rates.

Harvey will cause substantial losses in the energy market, though the upstream sector appears to have escaped major claims.

Imagine that instead of a world of abundance, we lived in a world with fewer of the many things we have come to take for granted.

The impact of Hurricane Harvey on the US commercial property market and treaty reinsurance space will depend heavily on the way a potentially above-average Atlantic storm season still in its early stages plays out.