Global insured losses from disasters were US$54 billion in 2016, up from $38 billion in the previous year, the latest sigma study from the Swiss Re Institute said.
Natural catastrophes resulted in claims of $46 billion, much higher than 2015’s $28 billion, while insured losses from man-made disasters were $8 billion, down from $10 billion in 2015.
Globally there were 327 disaster events in 2016, of which 191 were natural catastrophes and 136 were man-made. In total, the disasters resulted in economic losses of $175 billion, almost twice the $94 billion seen in 2015.
The losses in 2016 – both economic and insured – were the highest since 2012 and reversed the downtrend of the last four years. This was due to a high number of sizeable disaster events, including earthquakes, storms, floods and wildfires in 2016, across all regions.
Some events struck areas with high insurance penetration, which accounted for the 42% increase in insured losses, meaning also that many people in those areas were better equipped to recover from the shock of a disaster with prompt settlement of their insurance claims, the report said.
As in the previous four years, Asia was worst hit in terms of the number of disaster events (128) and resulting economic losses (approximately $60 billion). The earthquake on Kyushu Island, Japan in April inflicted the heaviest economic losses, estimated to be between $25 billion and $30 billion.
Worldwide, around 11,000 people lost their lives or went missing in disasters in 2016, down from more than 26,000 in 2015. M