natural catastrophes News

A Return to Balance: Brokers Say Reinsurance Renewals Were ‘Stable’

This year’s January reinsurance renewals were described by brokers as “stable,” “predictable,” “orderly,” “calmer,” “disciplined,” with “increased appetites” and a return to supply/demand balance. What a difference in tone from last year’s grueling January renewals. “In a marked change on …

Japan Adds Rescuers as Death Toll From Jan. 1 Quake Rises to 64

The death toll in the wake of the Jan. 1 earthquake off Japan’s northwest coast rose above 60 as the government doubled the number of personnel dispatched to the affected areas to bolster rescue operations. The number of reported fatalities …

Turkey Earthquake Tops 2023 Insurance Industry Losses Outside US: CRESTA

The largest non-US natural catastrophe in 2023 was the Kahramanmaras Earthquake Sequence in Turkey on Feb. 6, which generated an industry loss of US$5.8 billion, the largest ever cat loss for the Turkish insurance market, according to CRESTA, the Zurich …

Climate Change Makes Forecasting Harder, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Says

Climate change is making it harder to accurately predict extreme weather events, said Australia’s agriculture minister Murray Watt, amid criticism the country’s meteorology department failed to provide timely warnings of this week’s deadly storms. “Climate change is having an impact,” …

Update: Major Japan Quake Topples Buildings, Killing Nearly 50 People

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that toppled buildings in the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s northwest coast rose to nearly 50 as rescue workers searched for survivors trapped under rubble. One of the places hardest hit from Monday’s magnitude-7.6 …

Extreme Weather in Germany Costs Insurers US$5.4 Billion in 2023: GDV

Extreme weather in Germany again caused high insurance claims this year, with an estimated price tag of €4.9 billion (US$5.4 billion) during 2023, according to the German Insurance Association (GDV). This extreme weather – also known as severe convective storms …

Top International Insurance Journal Stories of 2023

Yes, another year has flown by, and it’s once again time for the top international Insurance Journal stories of 2023. This year, they are a real hodgepodge of topics, ranging from hard market trends, to faulty wind turbines, to the …

China Earthquake Update: 137 People Killed, 12 Still Missing, 207,000 Homes Wrecked

A dozen people were still missing on Thursday after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Gansu province late Monday, and netizens questioned the speed at which rescue operations had ended. Chinese media reported that search-and-rescue work in Gansu ended at 3 …

Allianz Sponsors Catastrophe Bond for European Windstorm Risks

Allianz has sponsored a new catastrophe bond which will provide the group with multi-year risk transfer capacity of €250 million to protect itself against European windstorms. Allianz entered into a three-year reinsurance agreement with Blue Sky Re DAC, a special …

Death Toll Climbs in China’s Worst Earthquake in Nearly a Decade

The death toll from China’s worst earthquake since 2014 rose to more than 130 as the government sent a top official to oversee recovery efforts. Some 113 people were killed in mostly rural areas of Gansu province and another 18 …