Insurers Report Net Claims of $8.5B

The nation's property and casualty insurers reported $8.47 billion in net claims (1) arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to research by Weiss Ratings Inc. Two groups of insurance companies, Berkshire-Hathaway and Hartford Fire & Casualty each had two companies among the top 10 insurers reporting the largest claims. Combined, the four companies—General Reinsurance Corp., National Indemnity Co., Hartford Fire Insurance, and Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.—lost nearly $3 billion from Sept. 11 claims. "The losses from the terrorist attacks made a big dent in the capital of some firms, especially General Reinsurance," Martin Weiss, chairman of Weiss Ratings Inc., said "However, even in this worst-case situation, the companies still had adequate capital to cover the losses.