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Insurers face $6b in catastrophe claims

Natural disasters in the US cost insurers an estimated $6.03 billion in the second quarter, the most since 2001, Insurance Services Office Inc. said.

The losses were highest in Texas, with $1.08 billion in catastrophic claims, Jersey City, New Jersey-based ISO said in a statement yesterday.

At $1.08 billion, Texas topped the list of the five most severely affected states, followed by Minnesota at $810 million, Kansas at $578 million, Arkansas at $450 million, and Oklahoma at $425 million.

Severe weather sparked widespread floods and tornadoes in the three-month period from April through June.

The Argo Group announced last week it expected to record catastrophe losses of between $16 million and $18 million for the second quarter.

And other Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers will reveal the impact on them of the 16 second-quarter US catastrophes - nearly double the number in the first quarter - as they announce their financial results during the coming weeks.

The ISO defines a catastrophe as an event that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a significant number of policyholders. ISO estimates the 16 catastrophes generated 1.22 million claims that averaged nearly $5,000 each.