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Earthquakes in Italy cause up to $875M in insured losses: EQECAT

Posted On: May. 30, 2012 12:00 AM CST

Earthquakes in Italy cause up to $875M in insured losses: EQECAT

OAKLAND, Calif.—A May 20 earthquake followed by two May 29 aftershock quakes that struck Italy's Emilia-Romagna region caused an estimated $375 million to $875 million in insured losses, catastrophe modeler EQECAT Inc. said Tuesday.

“This loss estimate is particularly sensitive to uncertainty in estimates of exposed values and insurance penetration rates,” said Oakland, Calif.-based EQECAT in its analysis.

EQECAT said its estimate was based on assumed insurance penetration rates of about 3% to 5% for commercial lines and less than 1% for residential.

Meanwhile, Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions Inc. noted in an analysis issued Wednesday that even where there is earthquake cover, the amount of coverage under such policies is limited.

RMS said that full-value earthquake policies “are extremely rare” in Italy, and that most policies would carry limits between 20% and 50% of sums insured.

“Limits tend toward the lower end of this range in the more seismically active parts of the country, and deductibles may apply,” said RMS.