Insured Catastrophes

A catastrophe, as defined by the insurance industry, is a natural disaster that causes
a certain dollar amount, currently set at $25 million in insured damage.

2005 was the most costly year on record for the insurance industry, in terms of natural disasters. The year saw 27 named tropical storms, 15 of which were hurricanes.
The most costly catastrophe in the United States was August 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Prior to that, 1992's Hurricane Andrew and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were the most costly insured events.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake in California has been the most costly earthquake to date. It measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, resulting in 60 deaths, 12,000 injuries, and destroyed more than 8,000 homes.
Over the 10-year period from 1993-2002, there were an average of 1,172 tornadoes each year in the United States.

9/11 - $18.8 billion dollars in insured property losses
1993 World Trade Center bombing - $510 million in insured losses
1995 Oklahoma City bombing - $125 million in insured losses
1992 Los Angeles riots - $775 million in insured losses (previously the most cost

Allstate reported a record $5 billion profit
State Farm Insurance’s profit climbed 65 percent
St. Paul Travelers’ earnings rose six-fold
American International Group’s rose eightfold.
Rating agency A.M. Best estimates that the property-casualty industry earned $68 billion in 2006, up from $49 billion in 2005, and that profits could total $62.2 billion this year if the storm season is relatively benign.
Policyholder surplus -- essentially reserves to cover future claims -- grew to a record of nearly $500 billion in 2006