2016 catastrophes News

Munich Re Issues First Quarter Profit Warning on Lower Equity Investments

Munich Re, the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, fell the most since August 2013 after saying first-quarter profit will be lower than it previously expected. Earnings for the quarter will also be lower than a year earlier after market turmoil caused the …

Economic Property Damages of Japan Earthquakes to Cost $2.5B-$3.5B: RMS

RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, estimated that economic property damage for both the April 15 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 earthquake and April 14 Mw6.4 earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture to be between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion. …

Ecuador to Raise Taxes, Sell Assets to Fund Multi-Billion Dollar Quake Rebuilding

Ecuador will temporarily increase some taxes, sell assets, and may issue new bonds on the international market to fund a multi-billion dollar reconstruction after a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, a somber President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday [April 20]. The …

Japanese Earthquakes Could Cost Insurers $2.9 Billion: AIR Worldwide

An earthquake that struck southern Japan on April 16 will probably cost insurers as much as 320 billion yen ($2.9 billion), according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide. The cost might be as low as 180 billion yen, the company said …

Ecuador Earthquake’s Death Toll Rises; AIR Worldwide Comments

World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. The number of dead has climbed to at least 350 from 272 …

Death Toll Rises from Japanese Earthquakes; Supply Chain Disruptions Examined

The death toll from earthquakes that struck southern Japan rose to 42 and the economic impact began to reverberate Monday as companies surveyed damage and the potential effects on production from supply-chain disruptions. The quakes that struck the island of …

Sony’s Camera Chip Factory Halts Production After Japan Temblor; AIR Comments

The earthquake in southern Japan that killed nine people, damaged buildings and derailed a bullet train also halted production at a Sony Corp. camera-chip factory, a key part of the global smartphone supply chain. The plant in Kumamoto on the …

U.S. Storms in March Will Cost Insurers $2 Billion: Aon Benfield’s Cat Report

Insurers face a $2.0 billion bill following seven severe storm events across multiple states in March, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. Overall economic losses sustained to property, infrastructure and agriculture across the U.S. from these …

Fiji’s Strongest-Ever Cyclone Flattens Entire Villages; Death Toll Rises

The death toll from the strongest tropical cyclone ever to hit Fiji climbed to at least 20 as aerial surveillance of affected areas showed entire villages were obliterated as the Category-5 storm roared across the South Pacific nation at the …

January Weather Cost Global Economy $4 Billion-Plus: Impact Forecasting

January winter weather cost more than $4.0 billion of economic impact in the United States and Asia, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, which evaluates the impact of natural disasters on a monthly basis. During the …