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September 02, 2004
Covering the storm: Hurricanes are crunch time for the reinsurance business
ATLANTA - High-tech charts and up-to-the-minute data meticulously track Hurricane Frances as employees run storm simulations that pop out specific damage estimates for certain zip codes.
The office is not run by a federal disaster agency, it's an extension of the Benfield Group, a London-based reinsurance brokerage firm. Essentially, when insurance companies look to hedge their bets on massive claims for catastrophes like hurricanes, they turn to companies like Benfield to link them with reinsurers.
Reinsurance brokers, already dealing with the $5 billion to $7 billion estimated insured damage from Hurricane Charley, got no reprieve this week.
Posted by Tom Troceen