Insurers gather in glitz of Monte Carlo to discuss storm costs, as Irma hits Florida
Monaco — As Hurricane Irma battered Florida, the cream of the insurance world — gathered under the Mediterranean sun in Monte Carlo — was assessing the costs of the storm for the global industry. The takeaway so far: Irma and its predecessor Hurricane Harvey, which caused massive flooding in Texas two weeks ago, are likely to take a toll on profits in a sector struggling with thin margins, stiff competition and falling prices. But at this early stage, the damages are not expected to be so excessive that they hit insurers’ capital base in a way that would lift slumping insurance prices or hurt their credit ratings. Irma is a "major event for Florida and also a major event for the insurance industry", Torsten Jeworrek, member of the board of the German reinsurance giant Munich Re, told journalists on Sunday. Along with some 2,500 insurance executives, he is in Monaco for an annual conclave to haggle over reinsurance prices and strike underwriting deals. The meeting typically occurs at...
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