Posted on 03/28/2024 8:20:16 AM PDT by Red Badger
LONDON (Reuters) -Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse could cost insurers billions of dollars in claims, analysts say, with one putting it at as much as $4 billion, which would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss.
Six people are still missing after a collision with a Singapore-flagged container ship destroyed the landmark bridge on Tuesday, forcing the closure of one of the busiest U.S. ports.
With little clarity on when the Port of Baltimore would re-open, insurers and analysts are now assessing the likely losses borne by underwriters across several product lines including property, cargo, marine, liability, trade credit and contingent business interruption.
"Depending on the length of the blockage and the nature of the business interruption coverage for the Port of Baltimore, insured losses could total between $2 billion and $4 billion," said Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS. That would surpass the record insured losses of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner disaster in 2012, he said.
Mathilde Jakobsen, senior director, analytics at insurance ratings agency AM Best, also said the claims would likely run into "billions of dollars".
Ship liability insurance, which covers marine environmental damage and injury, is provided through protection and indemnity insurers known as P&I Clubs.
The International Group of P&I Clubs collectively insures approximately 90% of the world's ocean-going tonnage and member P&I clubs mutually reinsure each other by sharing claims above $10 million. The IG Group declined to comment.
According to AM Best, the group holds general excess of loss reinsurance cover up to the value of $3.1 billion.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Isnt this why we pay insurance companies premiums? Dont actuaries set rates appropriately for this?
I heard Biden say he would put the American taxpayers on the hook for that. I hope that was just another of his lies.
Exactly!!
Now, can Joementia please explain why he’s saying he’ll bilk We the Taxpayers, for this?
Other than his 10%, that is.
Yes. And as we write this actuaries are assessing the necessary premium increases. On top of the Red Sea problems.
Insurance isn’t about paying claims.
Insurance is about collecting premiums.
That is how it works.
Next problem?
No they won’t. Biden will never allow an insurance investigation of this crash.
This might cause a Domino Effect of bankruptcies in the insurance universe......................
Shouldn’t the shipping company be liable?
more importantly to the election, it will have a domino effect on inflation.
Which is the only reason Pedo Joe seems to be panicking.
Biden is just saying that to win votes from the unions.
The world’s insurance companies have trillions of dollars, collectively. They spread the risk as wide as they can through reinsurance.
“Shouldn’t the shipping company be liable?”
That’s difficult when the ship is flagged in Singapore.
“Dont actuaries set rates appropriately for this?”
Only if they can reasonably estimate the odds of something happening.
Haven’t heard a whole lot about the captain of the container ship. Joseph Hazelwood of Exxon-Valdez infamy was immediately put under scrutiny after that ‘mishap’.
The Harbor Pilot(s), 2 I read, were in control of the ship...........
I'm sure they are but they insurance which will cover at least part of the cost. I don't know the effect of being a ship registered in Singapore.
I'd guess the $4 billion amount is before the unions start to get their cuts.
I don’t think so....hopefully, at least. The article said that at least 80 reinsurers were in the risk pool....
They’ll pass it off to us one way or the other.
That’s still $50 Million per, if all 80 are equal.
Remember when Lehman Bros collapsed because of derivatives?
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