2017 catastrophes News

Typhoon Tembin Leaves Trail of Death, Destruction in Philippines

A powerful storm that left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday [Dec. 26] and failed to make landfall in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta had …

Reinsurance Price Hikes May Be Short-Lived as Capacity Is Abundant

While overall market conditions may improve over the near term as a result of catastrophe events in the third quarter of 2017, A.M. Best continues to hold a negative outlook for the global reinsurance sector in 2018. In a new …

Swiss Re Says Global Insured Catastrophe Losses Will Hit $136B in 2017

Swiss Re AG estimates that global insured losses from catastrophes in 2017 will hit $136 billion, the third-highest on record for the sector, with the United States hardest hit, it said on Wednesday. Total economic losses from natural and man-made …

Vietnam Suffers Rare $1 Billion Natural Catastrophe Loss: Aon Benfield Report

Typhoon Damrey made landfall in Vietnam during November as a Category 2 strength storm, bringing estimated economic damages of VND22.1 trillion (US$1.0 billion) โ€“ a rare billion-dollar event for the country, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development …

Insured Losses for Germany-Austria’s Storm Herwart Estimated at $337.3M: PERILS

The initial insured property loss estimate for Extratropical Cyclone Herwart, which hit Austria and Germany on Oct. 29, 2017, is โ‚ฌ252 million ($337.3 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data. In line with …

Lloyd’s Pays Claims of $1.7B for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma & Maria – So Far

The Lloyd’s market has paid claims worth US$1.7 billion, to date, in response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Earlier this year Lloyd’s estimated a total commitment of US$4.8 billion for the three storms. Lloyd’s brokers are receiving money from …

Reinsurance Sector’s Share of Hurricane, Quake Losses Is $20B-$25B: A.M. Best

Cumulative net catastrophe losses for reinsurance companies from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, along with the Mexico earthquakes, are between $20 billion-$25 billion out of an overall industry loss of $90 billion, according to calculations issued by A.M. Best. “We …

Insured Losses for Cyclone Xavier in Germany Estimated at $343.6M: PERILS

The initial estimate of the insured property market loss for Extratropical Cyclone Xavier, which primarily affected Germany on Oct. 5, 2017, is โ‚ฌ291 million (US$343.6 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data. In …

Hedge Funds Invest in Reinsurance Stocks on Expected Rate Hikes in 2018

Hedge funds bought reinsurance stocks in the third quarter after prices tumbled on widespread losses after multiple hurricanes in North America, filings showed on Wednesday. Hurricanes in the United States and the Caribbean in August and September are expected to …

California Wildfires May Lead to $8B in Insured Losses: Aon Benfield

California’s historic wildfires may lead to as much as $8 billion in insured losses. That’s a record for insurers, according to the October 2017 Global Catastrophe Recap from Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting. The surge in October wildfires killed at least …