2012 Hurricane Season Insurance Forecast

Sufficient capacity remains available in insurance and reinsurance markets to meet the demand for coverage prior to the approaching U.S. hurricane season, according to Fitch Ratings' annual hurricane season desk reference.

Fitch attributes this to improvements to pricing, solidified underwriting capacity and favorable environmental forces.

Thanks to the onset of El Nino and other favorable conditions in the North Atlantic basin, for the first time in about a decade, Fitch states that forecasting organizations are expecting 2012 to produce a below-average hurricane season relative to long-term results.

Also, despite the fact that many domestic property insurers and global reinsurers reported declines in statutory surplus and shareholders' equity in 2011 due to high catastrophe losses, Fitch notes that sufficient underwriting capacity remains available in insurance and reinsurance markets.

Traditional insurance coverage is also bolstered by reinsurance-, insurance-linked securitizations, which accelerated in 2012 from the largest amount of catastrophe bond issuance ($1.5 billion) of any first quarter in history.

The U.S. property segment experienced significant price improvement in recent quarters according to the report, as the market continues to react to the catastrophe events of 2011, both international and domestic, specifically in regions and lines of business with significant catastrophe exposure.

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