"Is it possible that the insurance and reinsurance industries cannot handle a major catastrophe? With ever increasing property-casualty risks and unabated growth in hazard-prone areas, insurers and reinsurers now envision the possibility of disaster losses of $50 to $100 billion in the United States. Against this backdrop, the capitalization of the insurance and reinsurance industries has become a crucial concern. While it remains unlikely that a single event might entirely bankrupt these industries, a big catastrophe could place firms, policy holders, and investors under stress." "The Financing of Catastrophe Risk assembles an impressive roster of experts from academia and industry to explore the important issue of how catastrophe risk should be distributed and financed."--BOOK JACKET.