Lloyd’s of London has announced that it is expecting $900mn of claims from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Dominica and Puerto Rico last month.
The announcement came as the Corporation revised its combined loss estimate for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to $3.9bn from a preliminary projection of $4.5bn.
Lloyd's performance management director Jon Hancock said that this reflected more information on the events becoming available since it released a preliminary estimate.
“The claims estimate for Harvey and Irma has reduced approximately 10 percent from the precautionary figure we issued with our half year results last month. This is a developing situation and there continues to be a high degree of uncertainty around any claims estimate,” he said.
He noted that devastation caused by these disasters will “certainly have an impact on the (re)insurance sector as a whole.”
“It also serves as a reminder to all companies that, even in a highly competitive market, they must maintain adequate and sustainable pricing for the risks they are insuring,” he warned.
Hancock added: "We are experiencing one of the most active hurricane seasons this century and I am very proud of the way that the Lloyd's market is responding to these events.”
Highlighting that the entire Lloyd's market had net financial resources of £28bn ($36bn), Hancock said: "The Lloyd's market is built for moments like this, with governments, businesses and communities all relying on us to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”
