Insurers could face losses of up to $4 billion after Baltimore bridge tragedy, analyst says

[TexasTowelie]

Source: Reuters

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse could cost insurers billions of dollars in claims, analysts say, with one putting it at as much as $4 billion, which would make the tragedy a record shipping insurance loss.

Six people are still missing after a collision with a Singapore-flagged container ship destroyed the landmark bridge on Tuesday, forcing the closure of one of the busiest U.S. ports.

With little clarity on when the Port of Baltimore would re-open, insurers and analysts are now assessing the likely losses borne by underwriters across several product lines including property, cargo, marine, liability, trade credit and contingent business interruption.

"Depending on the length of the blockage and the nature of the business interruption coverage for the Port of Baltimore, insured losses could total between $2 billion and $4 billion," said Marcos Alvarez, managing director for global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS. That would surpass the record insured losses of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner disaster in 2012, he said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/insurers-brace-multi-billion-dollar-losses-after-baltimore-ship-tragedy-2024-03-27/

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[mucifer]

1. Oh crap

[gfwzig]

2. Boo F@cking Hoo Hoo!

the shipping company should pay for the entire cost of reconstruction ,,, and the losses incurred as a repercussion,,,,, if they cannot pay then dissolve them and burn the ships, do not fire sale the assets to a competitor...

[EX500rider]

4. What would be the point of burning the ships?

If they cannot pay selling the ships seems like it'd be a better idea, although they have insurance so it's going to be the insurance company's problem isn't it, that's why they've been paying premiums since the beginning of time

[Oopsie Daisy]

5. That certainly sounds reasonable. 🙄

[RobinA]

8. So The Shipping Company's

insurer, too whom they have probably paid gazillions against just such a problem, just gets to invest the premiums?

[former9thward]

3. In the end it will cost the insurance companies very little.

They will raise rates to cover the losses. The companies getting the raised rates will raise prices to their customers to cover the new rates. So ultimately the whoever buys the products will pay for it.

[LiberalFighter]

6. Is it the insurer for the cargo ship or for the bridge?

[republianmushroom]

7. Looks like insurance rates for ships could be going up.

[FakeNoose]

9. That's pretty much what it will cost to rebuild this bridge

Plus the Baltimore traffic will be delayed and rerouted for over a year. Probably several years. Who will reimburse drivers the costs for all of that mess?

Isn't this what insurance is really for?

[Igel]

10. I'm going to guess much less than a year. Hauling away the wreckage won't take that long.

Rebuilding will take a while.

And that's after we have blueprints and all the environmental statements are drawn up and permitting requirements met. I'm sure many will be waived for this particular project because that's where eyes will be focused. But all the rules and regulations and requirements prior to putting the first metaphorical shovel into metaphorical dirt will take a bit of a bureaucratic tussle.

The no-slo-de-growth lilliputians win over the much larger gulliver. Because safety and caution.

[pecosbob]

11. It would be interesting to compare that $4B with their profits...