Industry Still Underreserved For A&E
Tuesday, October 7th, 2003 PropertyThe property/casualty insurance industry remains drastically underreserved for asbestos and environmental liabilities, despite large, high-profile reserve additions by a handful of companies in 2002 and 2003, A.M. Best Co. reports. U.S. insurers—and, to a lesser extent, reinsurers—were deficient by about 37% in their reserves for ultimate undiscounted asbestos and pollution liabilities at the end of last year, Oldwick, N.J.-based Best says. While the industry recorded incurred-to-date asbestos and pollution losses totaling $76 billion, it faced additional unfunded liabilities of $45 billion at year-end 2002, the rating agency estimated. Asbestos claims were underreserved to a slightly lesser extent than environmental losses, the Best figures suggest.
