The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history is adding to soaring costs for insurance companies, which are already taking a beating this year from an onslaught of hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires.
The industry may have to shell out more than $1 billion for the Las Vegas massacre, insurance executives say. Acts of a solo gunman, who killed almost 60 people and injured about 500 others when he fired into the crowd of a country music festival last month from his Mandalay Bay hotel room, have resulted in multiple lawsuits. Victims have accused the hotel and its owner, MGM Resorts International, and concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc., of failing to protect people at the event.
The shooting will drive up man-made disaster costs for insurers, after losses for such incidents worldwide totaled $7.8 billion in 2016, according to data from reinsurer Swiss Re. Brokers and lawyers expect claims related to the Las Vegas incident from life and health insurance, and class-action lawsuits, to continue for years.