PCS reports no weather catastrophes in Canada in Q1, while polar vortex caused $1.5 billion insured losses in U.S.

2014 is the third year in a row in which Property Claims Services (PCS) has not declared any weather catastrophes in Canada for the first quarter, while six catastrophe events in the United States resulted in US$2.2 billion in insured losses during the first three months of this year.

Insurance Services Office (ISO) Inc.’s PCS unit recently released a report, titled Middle of the Road: PCS Q1 2014 Catastrophe Review.

“PCS did not declare any catastrophe events in Canada in the first quarter of 2014,” according to the report. “Catastrophe 25, a winter storm designation from December 22 through December 26, 2013, was the last catastrophe designated for Canada, with nearly 28,000 claims and approximately $194.1 million in losses.”

PCS collects data on weather disasters in Canada and the U.S. ISO is a subsidiary of Jersey City, N.J.-based Verisk Analytics Inc. In PCS’s Q1 2014 catastrophe review, the company noted that in each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, there was one catastrophe event in Canada in the first quarter, with no Q1 weather catastrophes in either 2012 or 2013.

This year, in the United States, the so-called “polar vortex” caused more than $1.5 billion in insured losses in 17 states. The three hardest-hit states, measured by insured losses, were Georgia ($318 million), New York ($296 million) and Pennsylvania ($219 million). All figures are in U.S. dollars.

Out of the $2.2 billion in catastrophe losses in Q1 2014 in the United States, 75% were personal losses, 23% were commercial losses and 2% were auto. The Q1 cat losses in 2014 were lower than the 10-year average (from 2005 through 2014) of $2.5 billion. Of the $1.5 billion in insured losses arising from the polar vortex, PCS noted that 73% of that was personal, 26.7% was commercial and 0.3% was from auto.

“First-quarter activity tends to account for a small portion of U.S. and Canadian catastrophe losses,” PCS noted. “The second quarter, already upon us, brings with it the start of hurricane season, the annual gauntlet that can pose the greatest threat to catastrophe team contingency plans. The months that follow will show whether the quiet 2013 season ushered in a false sense of security.”