Declarations

Floods, Erosion and Other Hazards

“The Galveston-Harris County area is one of the most floodprone areas in the United States. … Also, erosion is a huge problem that is not going away any time soon.

—Sam Brody, who heads the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores at the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus, comments on a new Web-based atlas of the 18-county Texas coast that has been developed by his group. The spatial database includes comprehensive information about every area of the Texas coast down not only to the city block, but also to any individual house or lot on that block. One feature of the atlas shows the hazards of living along the Texas coast – and there are plenty. Flood zones are prevalent in most coastal areas and beach erosion – in some areas, the shoreline is disappearing at the rate of 10 feet per year. Transportation issues, population issues and other hazards are detailed in the atlas. Also detailed are development and land-use patterns and where future growth is likely to occur along the Texas coast.

More Catastrophes, Less Income

“Higher levels of catastrophes and lower investment income hurt both third quarter underwriting performance and net income results.”

—Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Financial Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Bob Restrepo says both State Auto and the property/casualty insurance industry avoided any meaningful losses from hurricanes in 2010, but above average frequency and severity of wind and hail storms in the Midwest increased his company’s catastrophe loss ratio results relative to last year’s third quarter and its five-year average trend. State Auto reported third quarter 2010 net income of $0.2 million versus net income of $13.0 million for the third quarter of 2009. The company’s combined ratio for the quarter was 105.9 versus 102.5 for the third quarter of 2009.

The Ultimate Discussion

“The ultimate discussion will have to be between the plaintiff’s attorney and the syndicate that provided the policy.”

—Hank Watkins, president of Lloyd’s America Inc., comments on a lawsuit filed by former Louisiana State University offensive lineman Ciron Black that seeks $4 million and claims that underwriters at Lloyd’s of London did not pay an insurance policy he bought before a career-ending knee injury. Watkins said neither Lloyd’s of London nor its American subsidiary sold insurance to Black. In a federal lawsuit, Black said he was projected as a first-round NFL pick before the 2009 season. Black hurt his knee in a game against Alabama, was not drafted by any NFL team and was told by doctors that his career was over, the lawsuit said. Black’s attorney says the former offensive lineman paid $14,758 in premiums for a $2 million policy. The suit also seeks $2 million in additional damages.

Topics Texas