europe

A proposal published by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) calls for a natural catastrophe insurance system that includes pooling private risks, strengthening disaster risk management, and the use of catastrophe bonds to support catastrophe reinsurance availability for Europe.

The European Central Bank (ECB) alongside a macro-prudential oversight body it operates, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), has called for greater use of catastrophe bonds to address the insurance protection gap and mitigate catastrophe risks from climate change in the European Union.

The German insurance industry is facing a loss of $1.4 billion (EUR1.2 billion) from the two storms Elvira and Friederike, as well as other severe weather, which struck the country from May 27th to June 9th 2016, according to association the GDV.

Insurance industry losses from recent floods in Germany will likely reach the EUR 1 billion ($1.14 billion) point, according to Fitch Ratings. The losses may weaken the underwriting profitability of the sector and, on top of losses in France and other European countries, are likely to hit some reinsurance layers.

German insurance industry association the GDV has said today that it expects insurers will face at least $510m (EUR450m) of losses due to storm Elvira’s impacts which struck the country from the 27th to 30th May.

The trend of European and central European countries being hit by convective style severe weather, thunderstorms, rainfall and flooding continues in 2016, with Germany, France and the Czech Republic all suffering in recent days.

The procession of severe European windstorms continues to impact the UK and northern Europe, while severe flooding across the UK and northern France worsens, with financial losses for the insurance and reinsurance industry now rising fast.

The winter storm season in Europe looks set to add additional pressure to any insurers and reinsurers that are already feeling the pinch due to declining property catastrophe renewal rates, as losses from European windstorm and flooding start to mount.

Global reinsurance firm Swiss Re has published an estimate of its own losses from the recent central and eastern European flooding events and provided an estimate of the insured loss total for the industry as well. Swiss Re estimates its own losses to be approximately $300m, net of retrocession and before taxation.

Two investment managers of reinsurance-linked investment funds have announced that while the recent flooding in Europe could become one of the most expensive insured loss events in the region, they do not expect it to have any impact on the performance of their funds, at this time.