2020 catastrophes News

Sunken Ship’s Captain and 1st Officer Sentenced to 20 Months in Mauritian Prison

The captain and first officer of a dry bulk carrier, which triggered the biggest environmental disaster in Mauritius, have been sentenced to 20 months in prison in the Indian Ocean island nation. Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, the captain, and Subodha Tilakaratna, …

P/C Insurers Need to Hike Key Commercial Rates Even More: A.M. Best

The environment for many of the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurers lines remains competitive despite the need for rate increases for key commercial lines of coverage such as property catastrophe, commercial automobile, general and professional liability, and medical professional liability. For …

Global Insurers Paid $89 Billion for Natural, Manmade Disasters in 2020: Swiss Re

Natural and man-made catastrophes cost the insurance industry US$89 billion in 2020, in the fifth costliest year since 1970, according to a report from Swiss Re’s sigma. Of that total, US$81 billion related to claims from natural catastrophes, with the …

Russian Mining Giant Nornickel Fined $2 Billion for Huge Arctic Fuel Spill

MOSCOW – Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel was fined $2 billion on Friday for the damage caused by a huge fuel spill last year in the country’s worst environmental disaster in the Arctic. The leakage in May of 21,000 tonnes …

Croatian Residents Rush to Buy Earthquake Cover After Destructive Quakes in 2020

Croatian insurers are reaping a windfall as residents rush to sign up for protection after two destructive earthquakes last year left them to rebuild without private coverage, the head of the country’s industry association said. After escaping billions of kuna …

Final Insured Losses for Australian Bushfires of 2019/2020 Estimated at A$1.866B

Insured losses for the Australian bushfires of 2019/2020 rose to A$1.866 billion (US$1.441 billion), according to estimates issued by PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data. This fourth and final industry loss estimate is a slight …

Rescuers Race to Find Survivors After Croatia’s Worst Earthquake in 140 Years

Rescuers raced to search for survivors amid strong aftershocks after Croatia’s worst earthquake in 140 years killed seven people and devastated cities and towns in one of the nation’s poorest regions. The 6.3-magnitude tremor on Tuesday damaged most of the …

Insurance Journal’s Most Noteworthy Topics of 2020: International

COVID-19 and mergers and acquistions were just two of noteworthy topics of 2020 covered by the International section of Insurance Journal. Other notable topics included business moves — from startups and existing companies — and natural and manmade catastrophes. We …

Mauritius Oil Spill Disaster Caused by Lack of Safety Awareness, Admits Shipowner

TOKYO — Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping said on Friday [Dec. 18] the grounding of one of its large bulk carriers that caused an ecological disaster in Mauritius was due to a lack of safety awareness and a failure to follow rules …

Global Natural and Manmade Disasters Cost Insurers US$83B in 2020: Swiss Re

Insurance industry losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters across the globe amounted to US$83 billion in 2020, making it the fifth-costliest year for the industry since 1970, according to the Swiss Re Institute in its preliminary sigma estimates. Natural …