catastrophe

Catastrophe risk modelling company AIR Worldwide has announced that it is integrating risk models and data from a number of third-party suppliers within its Touchstone risk modelling software platform.

Global reinsurance firm Swiss Re has now delivered its final assessment on the total global economic and insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013, putting insured losses at $45 billion and economic losses at $140 billion.

Warren Buffett, chairman of diversified investment, insurance and reinsurance firm Berkshire Hathaway, said yesterday that his firm has pulled back from U.S. catastrophe reinsurance business as the rates are no longer attractive.

2013 gave the reinsurance industry a respite, following two above-average years of losses in 2011 and 2012. Insured losses in 2013 from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters are estimated at around $40 billion, according to reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.

During the course of 2013 the difference between the frequency and severity of catastrophe events was highlighted, as the number of events exceeded the average while insured losses did not, according to Property Claim Services (PCS) 2013 catastrophe report.

Zurich-based PERILS AG, provider of industry-wide European catastrophe insurance exposure, industry loss data and indices widely used by insurance-linked securities issuers, has released an initial loss estimate for December’s European windstorm Xaver.

Impact Forecasting, reinsurance broker Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development unit, has released its report on 2013 natural catastrophe events and puts total insured catastrophe losses for 2013 at $45 billion.

German insurers are set to pay out €7 billion, which is approximately $9.6 billion, as a result of the weather catastrophes which struck the region in 2013, which the Association of German Insurers (GDV) has termed an exceptional year.

The regional breakdown of global insured natural catastrophe losses in 2013 was vastly different to that experienced in 2012, as Europe saw significant losses from extreme weather events and the U.S. experienced a benign hurricane season, shows data from Munich Re.

Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has estimated the total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013 at $130 billion, resulting in a $44 billion insured loss toll for the global insurance and reinsurance industry.