| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
US storms cost insurers over US$2bn last month, Aon says
Insurance provider Aon plc (LON:AON) (NYSE:AON) has warned that tornados and severe storms in the US are likely to have cost insurers more than US$2bn last month.
Cyclone Debbie in Australia is also likely to result in an A$310mln insurance payout, according to the monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report.
The report, compiled by Impact Forecasting, which is owned by Aon’s business Aon Benfield Analytics, evaluated the impact of natural disaster events across the globe last month.
It noted the US had seen an above-average number of storms in the first quarter of 2017, including four significant outbreaks last month.
The most damage happened between 6-10 March with tornadoes, large hail and straight-line winds in the Plains, Midwest and Southeast, resulting in total economic losses of about US$1.7bn and public and private insurance claims of US$1.2bn.
Elsewhere in the world, the report showed there have been 35,370 insurance claims related to Cyclone Debbie in Australia so far but the number is expected to rise. It was the strongest tropical cyclone in the Australian region since Cyclone Quang in 2015, causing significant damage and flooding in South East Queensland and northern New South Wales.
The cyclone has also caused flooding in New Zealand’s North Island where rescue workers have used tractors and boats to evacuate thousands of people.
“There was no shortage of significant natural disasters in March, and while re/insurers’ focus was largely on the events in the United States and Australia, there were other major occurrences in emerging areas for the industry,” said Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting director and meteorologist.
“For instance, a phenomenon deemed a ‘coastal El Niño’ was blamed on catastrophic flooding in both Peru and Colombia, highlighting that there remain areas around the world where insurance can play a critical role in helping people in the aftermath of a disaster.”
A severe storm in Ghana killed 19 people while a weather outbreak in Thailand damaged thousands of homes. A magnitude 5.0 earthquake also caused extensive damage to property and agriculture in China’s Yunnan province.
Story by ProactiveInvestors
Source: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/176165/us-storms-cost-insurers-over-us2bn-last-month-aon-says-176165.html
