Tuesday, 18 December 2007

Natural disasters : 25 billion dollars costs to insurers in 2007

Estimations of the first global reinsurer Swiss Re is that more than 20,000 people have died this year in natural disasters whose overall bill reached 61 billion dollars. Of this, insurers and reinsurers have paid 25 billion, 9 billion more than in 2006.

The year 2007 is still lenient on the forehead of natural disasters and techniques, even if it is already more costly for insurers than 2006. According to the estimates of the first global reinsurer Swiss, losses related to major disasters in the world, natural or otherwise, have reached 61 billion dollars in 2007, of which 25 billion at the expense of insurers and reinsurers, as against 16 billion a year early.

Like last year, the amounts are below average for the long term, and in any event well below those of the year 2005 (more than 100 billion of insured damage) is notably during which the hurricane occurred Katrina in the United States.

Europe has been particularly affected in 2007. In January, Kyrill the storm caused extensive damage insured for a total of $ 5.8 billion in Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Floods have also reached Britain twice this summer, causing 4.5 billion in insured damage.

The United States has not been spared from the floods and fires that have cost 2.6 billion dollars. As for Australia, the insured damage associated with flooding in New South Wales have reached 1 billion.

The most deadly disasters occurred in Asia. Bangladesh has identified 4,110 victims of Hurricane Sid in November, 618 victims of the monsoon in early August and 1,500 victims of the floods in July, which are also produced in India. The earthquake in Peru from 15 August resulted in the death or disappearance of 913 people.

As regards technical disasters, namely those related to human activity (major fires, airplane accidents, and so on.), They reached 2 billion, or an amount roughly equivalent than in 2006.