Insurers forecast worst year for disaster claims since Hurricane Katrina

Travelers Cos. Inc. says it will pay at least $1 billion in insurance claims and suffer a second-quarter operating loss from tornadoes and hailstorms that pummeled 13 midwestern and southern states in April and May. Allstate Corp. reported similar catastrophe losses. The two property insurers set the tone for what is expected to be a brutal year for the property insurance industry -- the worst since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. And this tally does not include the recent tornadoes that sliced through Massachusetts, as well.