American National Figures Pre-Tax Net Impact of $17M from Katrina

Texas-based American National Insurance Company announced that its subsidiary property and casualty companies, including American National Property and Casualty (ANPAC) and ANPAC Louisiana Insurance Company and their subsidiaries, estimate the pre-tax net loss, net of reinsurance, from Hurricane Katrina will be in the $17 million range.

“We are very well prepared financially and operationally,” stated Gregory Ostergren, chairman, president & CEO of ANPAC. “The company’s Loss Mitigation and Risk Management Plan, which has been in place for several years, has been very effective in keeping company losses to a manageable level. We have three high quality catastrophe teams in place with over 160 of the best adjusters in the country poised and ready to fulfill our promises to our clients. This is the largest mobilization of catastrophe team resources in American National’s history. In addition, we have contingency plans to bring in even more Catastrophe Teams, if needed. In short, we have the resources to fully meet our obligations to our clients. Over the past several years, we have prepared for an event such as Katrina and have even prepared for events worse than Katrina, as hard as that is to comprehend.”

The company’s reinsurance protection would cover a storm roughly twice as severe as the company’s Katrina loss estimate. As of 3 CDT on Sept. 1, 3,714 hurricane losses have been reported.

Estimated pre-reinsurance losses could reach the $100 million range based on preliminary modeled losses including a provision for demand surge (material and labor cost increases from extensive demand) and flooded vehicles