Hiscox Ltd (LON:HSX) has estimated that it would face net claims totalling about US$225mln from both hurricanes Harvey and Irma which battered the Caribbean islands and mainland US in August and September.
The Lloyd's of London underwriter had said on September 18 that Hurricane Harvey alone would cost it at least US$150mln in claims based on an insured market loss of US$25bn.
READ: Hiscox says Harvey devastation will cost it US$150mln
In a statement today, Hiscox said its new estimate was based on an insured market loss of US$35bn for Hurricane Irma.
It added: “Although there is still a degree of uncertainty around these hurricanes, this is within the Group's modelled range of claims for events of this nature, and we still have depth of cover in our reinsurance programme”.
Hurricane Harvey, which lashed the US state of Texas causing flooding was on the scale of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, while Hurricane Irma, was one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, which ravaged several islands in the northern Caribbean, before moving onto Florida's Gulf Coast.
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Hiscox Group CEO, Bronek Masojada said: These events are already having an impact on rates in the global insurance market, particularly in affected areas and specific sectors.
“After a number of years of rate reductions, we are starting to see price corrections, most acutely in affected lines such as large property insurance and catastrophe reinsurance, which we expect to spread to non-affected lines.”