Best's Review Focuses on How Catastrophes Are Affecting the Insurance Industry

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The June issue of Best's Review provides an overview of catastrophe issues facing the industry. Over the past year, extreme weather has included hurricanes, wildfires in California, hailstorms, a derecho, and a snowstorm in Texas.

• “Winds of Change: Derechos, Snowstorms and Other Catastrophes Are Becoming a Growing Problem for Insurers” looks at non-tail, large-loss catastrophes and their impact on insurers.
• “Hail, Wind and Fire: Extreme Weather Drives Up Rates for Renewable Energy Insurance” examines the effects of extreme weather on the insurance market. Insurers are increasing deductibles and placing sublimits in policies.
• In “A Framework to Assess the Role of Insurance in Future Pandemics,” Howard Kunreuther, James G. Dinan Professor Emeritus of Decision Sciences and Public Policy, and Jason Schupp, founder and managing member of Centers for Better Insurance, address concerns of future pandemics. They explain that insurers need to establish a dialogue with policymakers to manage the risks of impending contagions.

Also in the June issue:

• Changes to Section 7702 of the IRS tax code allow life insurance policyholders to squirrel away more cash at lower death benefits, effectively transforming policies into retirement vehicles in addition to, or instead of, protection. Find out more in “U.S. Tax Changes Could Make Life Insurance More Popular.”
• “Insurers Scrambling to Switch Benchmarks Used for Setting Short-Term Interest Rates of Investments and Debt” looks at how the impending London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) cessation has forced a major shift for entities used to the LIBOR, which has been the standard since 1986.
• The article “Asset Managers See Rising Insurer Interest in Values-Based Investing” explains that the push comes from a wide range of constituencies—the C-suite, shareholders, bondholders, employees, regulators and rating agencies.

Full access to the complete content of Best’s Review is available at www.bestreview.com.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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