Insurers are expected to pay $580 million to homeowners and businesses for insured-property losses from three catastrophe events in the first quarter this year—the lowest first-quarter loss in more than a decade—according to preliminary estimates by Insurance Services Office, Inc.'s (ISO) Property Claim Services (PCS) unit. The previous low first quarter was $705 million for 2001.
Three events in 13 states generated slightly more than 240,000 claims—double the number of claims from three events in the same quarter last year—from one of the mildest winters on record. Snowfall across the U.S. was below normal, especially in the eastern part of the country.
The costliest catastrophe in the quarter was the January winter storm that caused $265 million in insured-property damage in seven states, from Oklahoma to Ohio.
