US cat-exposed captives face above-average hurricane season in 2018

Captive insurers with US property-catastrophe exposures may be concerned by news that the 2018 Altantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) is expected to result in 14 named storms, creating a "slightly above-average" hurricane season, according to Colorado State University researchers.

Seven of the 14 storms are expected to become hurricanes, and three to reach major hurricane strength (Saffir/Simpson category 3-4-5) with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater, according to the estimates.

In 2017, natural catastrophes caused economic losses in excess of $300 billion globally in 2018 and insured losses of around $130 billion, making 2017 on of the most costly years for the insurance sector on record.

The team of researchers predict that 2018 hurricane activity will be about 135 percent of the average season. By comparison, 2017’s hurricane activity was about 245 percent of the average season. The 2017 season was most notable for hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which devastated the US and portions of the Caribbean.