2010′s natural catastrophes account for $37bn in insured losses
Nine hundred and fifty natural catastrophes were recorded in 2010, against a yearly average for the last ten years of 785.
According to Munich Re, nine-tenths of 2010′s events were weather-related, although the reinsurer states: “The overall picture last year was dominated by an accumulation of severe earthquakes to an extent seldom experienced in recent decades.”
In addition: “The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change.”
Overall losses amounted to around $130 billion, of which approximately $37 billion was insured, and 2010 therefore takes is place among the six most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980.
In all, there were five catastrophes assignable to the top category of “great natural catastrophes”: the earthquakes in Haiti (12 January), Chile (27 February) and central China (13 April); the heatwave in Russia (July to September) and the floods in Pakistan (also July to September).
Munich Re’s reinsurance chief executive officer, Torsten Jeworrek, comments: “The severe earthquakes and the hurricane season with so many storms demonstrate once again that there must be no slackening of our efforts to analyse these risks in detail and provide the necessary insurance covers at adequate prices.”
Category: Insurance News
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