natural disasters News

Munich Re: Quakes and Storms Cause $95 Billion in Insurance Losses in 2023

Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, storms in the United States and other natural disasters caused an estimated $95 billion in insured losses in 2023, down from the previous year but still above the long-term average, Munich Re said on Tuesday. …

Storm Hitting Chinese Ports is a Wakeup Call for Climate Risk to Markets

DUBAI —As Typhoon Doksuri aimed toward mainland China, major southeast ports were forced to turn away dozens of vessels for days. The storm, supercharged by the warm July waters of the Pacific, delivered Beijing’s worst flooding in more than 50 …

Catastrophe Bond Market Defies Global Selloff With Record Returns

As bond markets everywhere get battered by a cocktail of higher interest rates, deficit angst and hawkish central bankers, one class of debt instrument is handing creditors double-digit returns: catastrophe bonds. Investors in the $40 billion market for so-called cat …

Insurance Industry Should Expect $100 Billion in Catastrophe Losses Every Year: Verisk

Total global insured losses from natural catastrophes of more than $100 billion a year may be less newsworthy than in the past. In fact, the industry should expect loss totals of at least $100 billion every year, according to models …

Florida Fishing Village Hopes to Maintain its Charm After Being Walloped by Idalia

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — This remote seaside enclave known as “Florida’s Last Frontier” took much of the pounding from Hurricane Idalia when it struck the state`s west coast as a Category 3 storm last week. The damage left behind …

Hawaii Could See a Big Hurricane Season, but Most Homes Aren’t Ready

HONOLULU (AP) — Jan Pappas and Ronald Yasuda hired a contractor to fasten the roof of their 1960s-era home to their walls with metal plates and nails so high winds of a potential hurricane wouldn`t blow it away. Their motivation? …

Climate Change and Homeowners’ Insurance Are on a Collision Course

A summer that has already seen water crises and wildfire smoke is rapidly becoming an inflection point in the pitched battle between climate change and the price of homeowners’ insurance in the US. American International Group Inc., which has already …

Japan Launches Intel Satellite to Watch N. Korea, Disasters

TOKYO (AP) _ Japan successfully launched a rocket Thursday carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and improve natural disaster response. The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., …

Natural Disasters Caused $313B Economic Loss in 2022 – Aon

Natural disasters, many driven by climate change, caused global economic losses of $313 billion in 2022, insurance broker Aon estimated on Wednesday, of which less than half was insured. Losses from natural catastrophes covered by the insurance sector amounted to …

Climate Disasters Forcing Insurers to Rethink Low Premiums, Few Claims Model

When it comes to climate impacts, the frontline of the finance industry is insurance. Last year’s payout from damages caused by extreme-weather events totaled $120 billion—about the same as the economic output of Kenya. And that’s a 50% increase over …