Osaka quake insurance market loss reaches $770m

Insurance claims paid following the shallow magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck the Osaka prefecture area of Japan in June 2018 now total almost $770 million (JPY 86.6bn), according to the countries insurance association.

Japan has been hit by numerous catastrophe and severe weather events in recent months, with the Osaka earthquake being among the most damaging.

At the time of the earthquake the USGS said there was a 41% chance that the economic losses from the quake would surpass $1 billion.

It looks like that figure has likely been easily surpassed, as the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ) said that as of Sep. 10th the total value of claims paid had neared $770 million.

The figure is based on 114,632 claims payments made, out of 152,493 claims inquiries received.

The total is unlikely to result in a significant share of losses from this Osaka earthquake for the reinsurance or ILS fund market, but there is the chance of some support being required for primary insurers.

This Osaka earthquake will become the third most costly earthquake event in Japan for the insurance and reinsurance industry, surpassing the total claims paid for the 1995 Kobe area earthquake.

However it falls far below other major events, such as Kumamoto and Tohoku, which both resulted in significant impacts to reinsurance interests.

At the level of claims currently seen any impact to reinsurance or ILS capital will be relatively minor from this earthquake event alone. However any aggregate covers for active insurers in Japan may begin to look at-risk, as the claims total from multiple events in recent months mounts up.