Serio Claims Much Lower WTC Losses

According to The New York Post, New York Insurance Superintendent Greg Serio met before the Senate Insurance Committee recently to discuss the scope of the insurance losses resulting form the Sept. 11 attacks.

According to Serio, the losses will be far less than the originally anticipated $70 billion projection by the insurance industry. Serio expects total payouts to reach $35 billion, far less than his own estimation of $60 billion.

The amount decreased significantly due to the lower death count, which meant fewer life insurance claims. Additionally, insurance coverage for short-term closures was not adequate enough to cover closures of over a month.

So far a total of $14.5 billion has been paid out to many of the 21,244 claims that have been reported.

Although losses have thus far been much less than expected, Serio states that the insurance industry has been affected statewide — no matter what type of coverage they provide.

Serio urged Congress to pass a “backstop” which would generate a pool to help ease the impact of a major disaster on the reinsurance companies.