Where am I?

Total catastrophe losses fall in 2009

Tidal wave hitting a city

The total cost of natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2009 fell to $52bn from $267bn in the 2008, a survey from Swiss Re has shown.

The insured cost of the catastrophes was around $21bn, with man-made disasters triggering additional claims of approximately $3bn. By way of comparison, total insured losses had soared to over $50bn worldwide in 2008.

Swiss Re noted that the lower figure for 2009 resulted from the calm US hurricane season, but added that Europe "suffered above average insured losses".

Above average losses during the first half of 2009; claims from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters during the first seven months of 2009 were nearly double the average over the last 20 years.

Between January and July, five events each triggered insured losses in excess of $1bn. The costliest event was winter storm Klaus, which struck France and Spain in January, and led to insured losses of $3.5bn. A July hailstorm that hit Switzerland and Austria cost insurers another $1.25bn. In the US, a winter storm and two tornadoes generated total insured losses of roughly $3.5bn.

Worldwide, approximately 12,000 people were killed by catastrophes in 2009, compared to 240,000 in 2008. The death toll in 2009 was among the lowest of the last 20 years. The region most affected was Asia, where a September earthquake in Indonesia claimed more than 1,000 lives. Another 2,000 people died when three typhoons struck the region between August and October.

  • Comment
  • Print
  • Share
  • RSS

Recent comments

There are no comments submitted yet. Do you have an interesting opinion? Then be the first to post a comment.

bob mendlesohn

Whatever happened to Bob?

Jonathan Swift tracked down former RSA CEO Bob Mendelsohn as the company celebrates its 300th anniversary, to find out what he has been doing.

Events

event logo

UK Broker Awards

10 Sep 2010 , London

Comment

UK power market reform

Climate change litigation: the forecast remains unclear

Conflicting judgments in the US mean that no clear decision has been reached there to determine if companies are facing...

Quote of the week

I find it surprising that people want to spend £100 000 buying a Japanese car, but would be worried talking to someone in India about a component of a £100 insurance policy. q

John Hodgson, operations and change director, Aviva

Interview

macdonald-ken-miller

Interview - Ken MacDonald: Keeping it simple

As former chief exec of Aon Global UK, Ken MacDonald has been refreshed by a return to a private company. Lynn Rouse talks...

Analysis

morrissey-michael

BIS Countdown - Mike Morrisey: The international agenda

The International Insurance Society claims to be the largest multinational organisation of its kind, with almost 1000...

Updating your subscription status Loading

Advertisement

Digital edition

Img1_125x155 Img2_125x155

Register now to receive a digital edition of Post every week or Reinsurance magazine every month

Events

event logo

UK Broker Awards

10 Sep 2010 , London

Site credentials:

Related sites:

Jobs:

Article types:

Categories:

Accreditations: