A.M. Best Briefing: Winter Storm Jonas Makes an Impact on Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Property Writers

A.M. Best anticipates that company-specific losses as a result of Winter Storm Jonas should be within risk management tolerances and rating actions due solely to this event will be limited.

In the Best’s Briefing, titled, “Winter Storm Jonas Makes an Impact on Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Property Writers Early in the Year,” it states that a combination of improved rate adequacy and underwriting initiatives should assist in mitigating overall losses from this event. Although companies with greater property concentration in the affected regions may report adverse operating results due to the storm in the short term, A.M. Best believes that most carriers have sufficient capital to effectively absorb this event.

Snow accumulations in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions ranged from 27.9 to 31.9 inches, setting records in some locations. Early reports have estimated damage losses of at least $1.0 billion. Although not nearly as severe as property losses, automobile losses will most likely see a slight uptick given the icy road conditions over an extended period of time; however, since Jonas was a weekend event, and many drivers heeded warnings to keep off the roads, the impact from automobile losses will likely be lessened relative to a weekday event.

To access a copy of this briefing, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=245697.

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