The Financing of Catastrophe Risk

With ever increasing property-casualty risks and unabated growth in hazard-prone areas, insurers and reinsurers now envision the possibility of disaster losses of 50 to 100 billion dollars in the United States. Against this backdrop, the capitalization of the insurance and reinsurance industries has become a crucial concern. While it remains unlikely that a single event might entirely bankrupt these industries, a big catastrophe could place firms under severe stress, jeopardizing both policy holders and investors and causing profound ripple effects throughout the U.S. economy. This book explores the disturbing yet realistic assumption that a large catastrophic event is inevitable. The essays aim to offer means of both reassessing and raising the level of preparedness throughout the insurance and reinsurance industries.