The Independent Insurance Claim Adjuster Resource

An unbelievably destructive and sobering force of nature caused by an 8.8 magnitude (Richter Scale) earthquake occurred this Saturday morning in South Central Chile near the city of Concepción in Region VIII.  This is the largest quake to strike since 1990 when a 9.1 magnitude quake off the Northern Coast of Sumatra rattled in 2004, killing 227,898 people.

Insurance claim damages are already estimated in excess of $2 billion dollars indicating another hard hit to the world’s largest property and casualty insurers.  It is believed this quake will top Haiti’s losses due to the higher cost of construction and real estate in Chile.  Losses have already been considered catastrophic for some property & casualty insurers this year.

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) indicated the quake struck northeast of the city Concepción by approximately 70 miles and 22 miles deep at 3:34am this morning.  There are just under one million people who reside in the areas surrounding the city.  Reports indicated that the quake caused structural damages to buildings over 195 miles away with hundreds feared dead.  Concepción is an active seismic area and the effects were felt thousands of miles away in São Paulo, Brazil

Our sympathy is equally extended to those not forgotten in Haiti, a country still very much dealing with after-math of a recent 7.0-7.2 quake that killed thousands and trapped some for periods in excess of 10 days.

More information as it becomes available.
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