10 February 2017News

2016 insurance loss estimates peak after quiet period

According to Willis Re’s 2016 Summary of Natural Catastrophe Events report insured loss estimates in 2016 from major natural catastrophes reached $39.5 billion, the highest since 2012’s losses of $60 billion.

2016's high losses buck the recent trend for loss reductions seen between 2011 and 2015, where annual insured natural catastrophe losses fell significantly from $120 billion to $23 billion.

The Willis Re report listed 2016’s largest single insured loss as being from the Kumamoto earthquake in Japan in April 2016 with losses exceeding $4.8 billion. Other notable events in 2016 included Canada’s Fort McMurray wildfire in May which caused insured losses of around $3.5 billion; Hurricane Matthew in early October resulted in the largest single insured loss in the United States at $2.3 billion; and the combined effects of Windstorms Elvira and Friedrike in Europe in the summer produced losses of approximately $2.48 billion.

“As our report shows, despite natural catastrophe insured losses falling in the last five years to 2016, they are still significant, and lower profile perils such as the wildfire around Fort McMurray have the potential to cause substantial losses,” said John Alarcon, executive director, catastrophe analytics, Willis Re International

“Economic losses continue to be higher than insured losses and substantially so in some regions. Clearly the insurance industry has a significant role to play in helping economic recovery by supporting resilient societies and closing the protection gap between insured and total economic loss when natural catastrophes occur.”

Prasad Gunturi, executive vice president, Willis Re said: “Natural catastrophe events in the US, notably the severe thunderstorms in Texas during March and April, and Hurricane Matthew in early October, emphasize the crucial role the insurance industry plays in rebuilding communities. On behalf of our clients, we performed a damage survey of homes impacted by Hurricane Matthew in order to increase understanding of the resilience and accurately represent the impact of hurricanes.”




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17 January 2017   2016 saw 315 natural catastrophes that generated economic losses of $210 billion, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, in its 2016 Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report.
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20 March 2017   According to a new report from Willis Re the risk to US property from thunderstorms is as high as from hurricanes.
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31 March 2017   Catastrophe management is at the head of the agenda for a new event being organised by Aon Benfield on Bermuda in May.

More on this story

News
17 January 2017   2016 saw 315 natural catastrophes that generated economic losses of $210 billion, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, in its 2016 Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report.
News
20 March 2017   According to a new report from Willis Re the risk to US property from thunderstorms is as high as from hurricanes.
News
31 March 2017   Catastrophe management is at the head of the agenda for a new event being organised by Aon Benfield on Bermuda in May.