Losses from disaster amount to $158 bln in 2016 but only $49 bln insured
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jan 2017
Total economic losses from natural and man-made disasters in 2016 totalled at least US$158 billion, which was significantly higher than the $94 billion losses in 2015, estimated Swiss Re. Overall insured losses were also higher in 2016 at around $49 billion, compared to $37 billion in the previous year.
Nat CATs accounted for $150 billion of the total economic losses in 2016. Insured losses from Nat CAT events were $42 billion in 2016, up from $28 billion in 2015, but slightly below the annual average of the previous 10 years ($46 billion). Man-made disasters triggered an additional $7 billion in insurance claims in 2016.
However, the gap between total losses and insured losses in 2016 shows that many events took place in areas where insurance coverage was low. Losses resulting from man-made disasters fell to $7 billion from $9 billion in 2015. Globally, there were approximately 10,000 victims in disaster events in 2016.