flooding

Japan has been hit by torrential rainfall in recent days resulting in some of the worst flooding seen in history, with now more than 125 people confirmed as having died in the event and widespread damage to homes and businesses.

PERILS AG has finalised its insurance and reinsurance industry loss estimate for the UK floods in winter 2015/16 at £1.108 billion, after its fourth industry loss estimate for storms Eva – Frank has been pegged at £504 million.

PERILS AG, provider of industry-wide European catastrophe exposure, industry loss data and indices, has finalised its industry loss estimate for the UK floods due to storm Desmond that struck the country in December 2015 at £604 million.

Insurance industry losses are rising from severe flooding experienced in the area around Forbes in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, with the Insurance Council of Australia forecasting “tens of millions of dollars” of insured losses.

The insurance and reinsurance industry loss estimate from the UK flooding that hit the country in December 2015 and early January 2016 is now £1.135 billion ($1.56bn), after the estimate for storms Eva – Frank fell by 7%, according to PERILS AG.

Global natural disasters and severe weather events are expected to cost the insurance and reinsurance industry at least $7 billion in May, as the Fort McMurray wildfire, European and U.S. severe weather ramp up industry losses.

PERILS AG, provider of industry-wide European catastrophe exposure, industry loss data and indices, has reduced its estimate insurance or reinsurance market losses from UK floods due to storm Desmond in December 2015 by another 10% down to £597m ($860m).

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is sticking with its estimate that the final insurance bill for last winter’s UK flooding will cost around £1.3 billion (approximately $1.9 billion), so impact to reinsurance and ILS markets should not creep too much higher.

The ongoing severe flooding in Houston, Texas and the surrounding area, is being likened for severity to 2001’s tropical storm Allison, a storm which was predominantly a flooding event but resulted in more than $7 billion of economic losses and an insured loss estimated at $3.5 billion.

The United States has suffered another week of severe weather which looks set to result in another billion dollar plus toll for the economy and hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for insurance and reinsurance firms, according to Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting unit.