Mexico Buys $400 Million of Disaster Insurance

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Mexico Friday announced that it has bought more than $400 million worth of insurance to protect vulnerable areas from the impact of hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Mexico purchased 4.8 billion pesos ($404 million) of insurance to “protect public infrastructure and homes in vulnerable areas,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Last year, Central America was hammered by 19 major storms that left hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Scientists expect the region to be hit by more severe weather as the effects of climate change take hold and development banks have encouraged emerging economies to use insurance programs to brace for those costs.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Jan Paschal)