Hiscox sets aside $47m for freak Texas snowstorm
Hiscox has reserved $47m for payouts related to storm Uri, a devastating winter storm that raged through the Southern United States in February, with much of the damage concentrated in Texas.
Payouts for the insurance industry as a whole stand at around $15bn, according to Hiscox, of which it owes $47m.
The deep freeze in the Lone Star state saw millions left without power and nearly half of Texans struggle with disrupted water services.
According to the Texas Tribune, at least 111 people died in the state as a result of the storm, mostly from hypothermia.
Hiscox’s insurance costs related to storm Uri were dwarfed by the insurer’s Covid-19 costs, however, which total $475m net of reinsurance.
In a market update this morning, Hiscox said there was no change to its previously disclosed estimated for Covid claims.
The insurer added that its exposure to potential business interruption claims had been running off at around eight per cent per month since June 2020, with residual exposure expected to be largely run-off by the end of June 2021.
In the first three months of the year Hiscox recorded group gross written premiums up 6.3 per cent to $1.25bn, following strong growth in its London and European markets.