The hurricanes that hit the United States over the last few months have left the insurance industry facing piles of claims. Commercial insurance buyers have enjoyed a soft market in recent years, but this fall’s catastrophe losses are likely to result in higher prices going forward, at least for buyers with catastrophe exposures.

Some estimates of insurers’ losses related to the recent natural disasters have been sky-high. Fitch Ratings said that catastrophe losses for 2017, including those related to the three hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria—and the earthquakes in Mexico, will cost global insurers and reinsurers more than $100 billion and could get up to $190 billion.

Steven Weisbart, senior vice president and economist at the Insurance Information Institute, noted that insurance companies are still receiving and processing claims from the hurricanes. It could take until November or December to get a good handle on the costs, he said.

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Susan Kelly

Susan Kelly is a business journalist who has written for Treasury & Risk, FierceCFO, Global Finance, Financial Week, Bridge News and The Bond Buyer.

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