catastrophe

Catastrophe risk modelling firm RMS has highlighted the growing catastrophe exposures faced by ports around the world. Analysis from the firm reveals that a combination of cargo type and the type of natural disaster risk are significant drivers of potential losses, and not just the size of container hubs.

Australian primary insurance group Suncorp has bulked up on its catastrophe and weather reinsurance protection again, as the firm has increasingly suffered losses and its CEO states that the increased frequency of medium-sized catastrophe losses is hurting the firm.

In the wake of a natural disaster event in an emerging, vulnerable region of the globe disaster aid, while important, often takes time to reach those in need and in some cases is far from enough to meet the needs of those affected.

The first-half of 2016 has seen both insured and economic natural disasters come in above the long-term average, with the insurance and reinsurance industry on the hook for $30 billion of a total $98 billion economic impact, according to Aon Benfield.

AIR Worldwide has launched a new practice group to be focused on disaster resilience and disaster risk reduction initiatives around the world, which will ultimately help insurance, reinsurance and capital or ILS markets better provide risk financing capacity.

Global reinsurer Munich Re has revealed that global, total losses from catastrophe events in the first-half of 2016 amounted to $70 billion, of which $27 billion was insured. Both overall and insured losses were above the inflation-adjusted average for the last 30 years, says Munich Re.

PCS designated 27 catastrophe events in the first-half of 2016 across the U.S. and Canada amounting to insured losses of $15 billion, including the devastating wildfires in Alberta, Canada and a series of intense hailstorms and flooding in Texas.

Global catastrophe loss activity in the month of June 2016 was driven by over $5 billion of economic losses due to floods, the bulk of which was in China, while U.S. severe thunderstorms resulted in over $350m of insurance industry losses, according to Aon.

PCS reported earlier this year that 2015 was the most active year for catastrophe events across the U.S. since 2007, and the firm’s first-quarter 2016 catastrophe report reveals a continuation of the trend as catastrophe frequency and severity intensified during the quarter.

PERILS AG, to date a provider of industry-wide European catastrophe exposure, industry loss data and indices, has joined the Singapore-based Natural Catastrophe Data and Analytics Exchange (NatCatDAX) Alliance, which will help it broaden its coverage to include some Asian countries.