Post by Paddy by Grace on Mar 5, 2010 12:12:46 GMT -7
uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6241R820100305
LONDON (Reuters) - February's combination of natural catastrophes, including one of the biggest earthquakes by magnitude in history, will cost reinsurers and insurers billions, said reinsurance broker Aon Benfield on Friday.
The magnitude-8.8 earthquake which struck central Chile on February 27 was the seventh strongest on record, and affected more than 1.5 million homes, buildings and other structures. The disaster follows the Haiti earthquake on January 12, which to date has claimed more than 200,000 lives.
"Insurance penetration in Chile is far greater than in Haiti, and insured losses are expected to be low single digit billions of dollars, while economic losses are forecast to reach tens of billions of dollars," said Aon Benfield in a report.
"As with Haiti, this event has seen a swift and ongoing relief effort. This magnitude-8.8 event was the largest to strike Chile since the magnitude-9.5 Valdivia earthquake that struck on May 22, 1960," said Steve Jakubowski, president of impact forecasting at Aon Benfield.
"This event, unlike the Haiti event, will have significant insured loss implications due to much higher insurance take-up rates in the region that experienced the greatest damage," he said.
Elsewhere in South America, river flooding in February killed at least 15 people in four Bolivian provinces, with more than 35,000 homes being damaged and around 100,000 people displaced. Meanwhile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru also suffered severe flooding, the latter witnessing the damage or destruction of more than 20,000 homes, Aon Benfield said.
Europe's Windstorm Xynthia swept across Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and Germany late in February, causing inland and coastal damage which left two million homes without electricity. Insured losses are expected to be in excess of $2.1 billion (1.4 billion pounds), said the report.
Heavy rains were responsible for extensive flood damage in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Italy between February 13 and 17. In Greece, 20,000 hectares of land were flooded and damage to homes and infrastructure was estimated at around $10 million. Torrential rain was also witnessed in Madeira, where reconstruction costs are estimated at more than $1.35 billion, with insured losses set to be significantly lower, said Aon Benfield.
In the U.S., severe winter storms swept the country, the first between February 5 and 7, which affected infrastructure in several regions, including Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and parts of southern New Jersey, and resulted in widespread electricity blackouts and disruption to schools, airports, roads and railways.
"More than 35,000 insurance claims had been filed as at the end of February, totalling $125 million," said Aon Benfield.
To see the full report and details on peril activity in Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Australia , click here
LONDON (Reuters) - February's combination of natural catastrophes, including one of the biggest earthquakes by magnitude in history, will cost reinsurers and insurers billions, said reinsurance broker Aon Benfield on Friday.
The magnitude-8.8 earthquake which struck central Chile on February 27 was the seventh strongest on record, and affected more than 1.5 million homes, buildings and other structures. The disaster follows the Haiti earthquake on January 12, which to date has claimed more than 200,000 lives.
"Insurance penetration in Chile is far greater than in Haiti, and insured losses are expected to be low single digit billions of dollars, while economic losses are forecast to reach tens of billions of dollars," said Aon Benfield in a report.
"As with Haiti, this event has seen a swift and ongoing relief effort. This magnitude-8.8 event was the largest to strike Chile since the magnitude-9.5 Valdivia earthquake that struck on May 22, 1960," said Steve Jakubowski, president of impact forecasting at Aon Benfield.
"This event, unlike the Haiti event, will have significant insured loss implications due to much higher insurance take-up rates in the region that experienced the greatest damage," he said.
Elsewhere in South America, river flooding in February killed at least 15 people in four Bolivian provinces, with more than 35,000 homes being damaged and around 100,000 people displaced. Meanwhile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru also suffered severe flooding, the latter witnessing the damage or destruction of more than 20,000 homes, Aon Benfield said.
Europe's Windstorm Xynthia swept across Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and Germany late in February, causing inland and coastal damage which left two million homes without electricity. Insured losses are expected to be in excess of $2.1 billion (1.4 billion pounds), said the report.
Heavy rains were responsible for extensive flood damage in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Italy between February 13 and 17. In Greece, 20,000 hectares of land were flooded and damage to homes and infrastructure was estimated at around $10 million. Torrential rain was also witnessed in Madeira, where reconstruction costs are estimated at more than $1.35 billion, with insured losses set to be significantly lower, said Aon Benfield.
In the U.S., severe winter storms swept the country, the first between February 5 and 7, which affected infrastructure in several regions, including Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and parts of southern New Jersey, and resulted in widespread electricity blackouts and disruption to schools, airports, roads and railways.
"More than 35,000 insurance claims had been filed as at the end of February, totalling $125 million," said Aon Benfield.
To see the full report and details on peril activity in Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Australia , click here