Insurer: Cost of weather disasters doubled
European storm was most expensive in '07, followed by British floods
The Associated Press
updated 10:26 a.m. ET, Fri., Dec. 28, 2007
BERLIN - Losses to insurers from natural disasters nearly doubled this
year
to just below $30 billion globally after an unusually quiet 2006, a
leading
reinsurer said Thursday, from winter storms in Europe, flooding in Britain
and wildfires in the U.S.
Munich Re also warned that climate change could mean a growing number of
weather-related catastrophes in coming years.
"The trend in respect of weather extremes shows that climate change is
already taking effect and that more such extremes are to be expected in
the
future," board member Torsten Jeworrek said in a statement. "We should not
be misled by the absence of megacatastrophes in 2007."
While losses soared in 2007, the figure was far short of the $99 billion
Munich Re recorded in 2005 - when Hurricane Katrina slammed into New
Orleans.
The world's second-largest reinsurer put total economic losses this year -
which includes losses not covered by insurance - from natural disasters at
$75 billion - a 50 percent increase from last year's $50 billion, but far
below the 2005 figure of $220 billion.
The costliest disaster for insurers was a Jan. 18-19 winter storm, dubbed
Kyrill in German-speaking countries, which killed 49 people, caused
trans****tation havoc, damaged property and tore down power lines across a
broad swath of northern Europe.
The storm resulted in insured losses of about $5.8 billion and total
economic losses of some $10 billion, Munich Re said. Germany accounted for
more than half the total.
Two bouts of flooding in Britain, in June and July, each led to insured
losses of some $3 billion and total economic losses of $4 billion, Munich
Re
said.
Wildfires in the United States in October caused insured losses of $1.9
billion, while a mid-April U.S. winter storm resulted in losses of $1.57
billion, the company said.
This year's costliest Caribbean storm, August's deadly Hurricane Dean,
placed seventh overall, with insured losses of $1 billion.
"The relatively low losses can be explained by the tracks of the
hurricanes
_ no major hurricanes reaching the US mainland, as in 2006," Munich Re
said
in a statement.
Munich Re said the year's deadliest natural disasters by far were
November's
tropical cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh, which killed some 3,300 people; and
flooding in South Asia from July to September, which accounted for 3,000
lives. Neither ranked among the year's 10 costliest in terms of insured
losses.
The company said that, in all, 950 natural disasters were recorded this
year - up from 850 last year, and the highest figure since the company
started keeping systematic records in 1974.
"All the facts indicate that losses caused by weather-related natural
catastrophes will continue to rise," Munich Re's Jeworrek said.
Jeworrek said his company was "ready to deal with this," but noted that
higher insurance premiums and tax-financed infrastructure repairs would
result in higher costs for society as a whole, and said that "speedy
international action is needed."
Munich Re is a reinsurer, meaning it offers backup policies to companies
writing primary insurance policies. Reinsurance helps spread risk so that
the system can handle large losses from natural disasters.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22418938/
|
