The insurance industry had to cope with far higher natural catastrophe losses in 2007 than in 2006, with its unusually low loss figures. Despite the general absence of extreme events, overall economic losses had reached US$ 75bn by the end of December – an increase of 50% on 2006 (US$ 50bn). However, the loss figures were well short of 2005’s record US$ 220bn. At just under US$ 30bn, insured losses were almost double those of 2006 (US$ 15bn). The number of natural catastrophes recorded in 2007 was 950 (compared with 850 in 2006), the highest figure since 1974, when Munich Re began keeping systematic records in its NatCatService database. (soucre: Munich Re Group)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., January 14, 2008 — U.S. property/casualty insurers are expected to pay homeowners and businesses $6.5 billion for 2007 property losses from 23 catastrophes — the eighth lowest cost in a decade and the seventh lowest frequency for the same period, according to preliminary analysis by ISO’s Property Claim Services Unit.

PCS estimates that insurers paid 1.18 million claims for damage in 41 states resulting from 2007’s 23 catastrophes. More than 721,000 personal lines claims accounted for $4.4 billion, while 144,000 commercial lines claims cost an estimated $1.3 billion, and 315,000 vehicle claims cost insurers an estimated $800 million.

The 23 catastrophes consisted of 17 severe weather events (wind, hail, tornadoes, and flooding), five winter storms, and one wildland fire.

(source: ISO’s Property Claim Services Unit)

SACRAMENTO ― Today Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced a settlement with Paramount Disaster Recovery, Inc. (Paramount), a California corporation based in Palos Verdes, its CEO Steve Slepcevic, 39, of Palos Verdes, Matthew Todd, 48, of Redondo Beach, and Charlie R. Rose (aka Reed Lostman), 43, also of Redondo Beach, in which the collective group will pay a $200,000 penalty, reimburse the State of California $75,000 for litigation costs, and refrain from operating as unlicensed insurance claims adjusters in California.

"I am pleased that we could take these unscrupulous characters out of the post-disaster marketplace," stated Commissioner Poizner. "Working as an unlicensed public insurance adjuster victimizes fire survivors twice and is, frankly, unfair to reputable public insurance adjusters."  (Source CA DOI)

Rebuttal: Responsive Press Release re Paramount Disaster Recovery, Inc. and the CA Department of Insurance from Steve Slepcevic of Paramount.

"We have been swamped. We're getting a lot of calls of trees down, roof damage, a lot of fence damage," said John Bradford, who was juggling phone messages Monday at Sacramento insurance firm McGee & Thielen. "Adjusters? They're all over town."

With a break in the weather, insurance companies had their claims adjusters fanned out across the region, while office workers fielded hundreds of calls from clients trying to figure out what to do with their crushed cars, toppled trees and downed fences.  

The numbers speak for themselves: State Farm counted some 4,000 weather-related claims statewide as of Monday morning, officials said. USAA tallied more than 1,100 statewide, according to spokesman Roger Wildemuth. Those are all related to the storms that began late Thursday night." (source: sacbee.com)

In an article written on 1/8  by Paul S. Martinez of the Beaumont Enterprise it is stated;

" In what may be a first, the Texas Department of Insurance has received no complaints regarding insurance claims related to Hurricane Humberto, an Insurance Council of Texas spokesman announced today.

About 97 percent of the more than 5,000 claims filed in Hurricane Humberto's wake have been settled with insured losses estimated at $30 million, Insurance Council of Texas spokesman Mark Hanna said."

BOSTON, Jan. 7, 2008—AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) today announced results of the latest research by its team of scientists into the link between the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and U.S. landfall activity.

"By only focusing on the 2004 and 2005 seasons, it is easy to forget that every hurricane season is unique and actual landfall activity is a function of complex interactions between a range of environmental factors such as genesis location, sea surface temperatures and the depth of warm ocean waters, wind shear, and atmospheric steering," said Dr. Peter Dailey, director of research in atmospheric science at AIR Worldwide. "A higher number of tropical storms in the Atlantic basin does not translate to an equivalent increase in hurricanes or landfalling hurricanes."

Fernley, Nevada

At 4:00 a.m. MST, January 5, 2008, a 30-foot wide by 15-foot deep canal at the Truckee Levee breached due to excessive rainfall, covering approximately 500 to 600 acres and affecting 300 homes with 3,000 people evacuated. "The break came during a series of storms that lashed the West and piled snow as deep as 11 feet in the Sierra Nevada mountains. (source)

The water covered as much as a square mile of the growing rural town and damaged nearly 300 homes, according to an initial assessment." (source)

It appears that most of the homeowners do not have flood insurance.