UK flood insurance losses hit five year high following November
deluge, according to Impact Forecasting catastrophe report
CHICAGO, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact Forecasting,
the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon
Benfield, today releases the latest edition of its monthly Global
Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils
that occurred worldwide during November
2012. Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance intermediary
and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE:AON).
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The report reveals that the United
Kingdom was subject to a period of torrential rain during
the month, which killed at least four people and damaged more than
1,100 homes.
A report from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers
noted that the floods were likely to cost insurers as much as
GBP500 million (USD800 million).
This would raise UK flood insurance losses to around
GBP1 billion (USD1.6 billion) for 2012, making it the costliest
flood year since 2007, during which more than GBP3 billion (USD4.8
billion) claims were processed.
Also in Europe, excessive rains
prompted flooding along the Drava and Sava rivers in Slovenia, and in neighboring Croatia, damaging more than 4,500 structures
and resulting in an economic loss estimated at EUR209 million (USD265
million).
Additional flooding was recorded during the month in
Indonesia, Panama, Haiti
and Congo.
Steve Jakubowski, President of
Impact Forecasting, said: "Europe
traditionally suffers periods of flooding throughout the year, and
since it is a highly insurable peril across a large proportion of
the continent, insurance losses can be significant. We have made
advances in our understanding of the flood peril, particularly in
the aftermath of the Thailand
floods in 2011, and in response, Aon Benfield continues to develop
and revise its modelling suite so insurers and reinsurers can
better quantify their flood exposures."
Elsewhere in November, a magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck
offshore Guatemala, killing at
least 52 people and affecting at least 30,870 homes in 21 separate
regions. More than GTQ800 million
(USD102 million) was made available
to assist with the recovery.
Meanwhile, at least 26 people were killed and 231 others were
injured after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck northern
Myanmar. Thousands of homes and
other structures were damaged as MMK1
billion (USD1.17 million) was
allocated for disaster relief.
In Iran, a magnitude-5.5
earthquake injured at least 55 people, with the majority of damage
concentrated in East Azabaijan Province.
Two periods of severe weather impacted Australia during the month, with one stretch
particularly affecting areas of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. Softball-sized hail caused
significant damage, while flash floods and high winds damaged trees
and power lines. Local insurers noted that 10,700 home and auto
claims had already been filed with payouts expected to reach at
least AUD100 million (USD105
million).
Winter weather was also prevalent in November, most notably in
China. Two separate waves of
winter storms led to a combined USD338
million in economic damages across several provinces.
Also in Asia, Japan and Pakistan both recorded heavy snow and wind
events.
In the United States, a
Nor'easter affected coastal sections of New England and the
Mid-Atlantic nearly one week after Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy's
landfall in late October.
Sandy left 131 people dead in the U.S., and caused at least
USD62 billion in economic losses. It
is now the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, only behind
2005's Hurricane Katrina.
To view the full November Global Catastrophe Recap report, click
the link below:
http://thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com/Documents/201212_if_monthly_cat_recap_november.pdf
About Impact Forecasting®
Impact Forecasting is a catastrophe modeling center of
excellence whose seismologists, meteorologists, engineers,
mathematicians, finance risk management and insurance professionals
analyze the financial implications of natural and man-made
catastrophes around the world. Impact Forecasting's experts
develop software tools and models that help clients understand
risks from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and
terrorist attacks on property, casualty and crop insurers and
reinsurers. To find out more about Impact Forecasting®, visit
www.impactforecasting.com.
About Aon Benfield
Aon Benfield, a division of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), is the world's
leading reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor.
We empower our clients to better understand, manage and transfer
risk through innovative solutions and personalized access to all
forms of global reinsurance capital across treaty, facultative and
capital markets. As a trusted advocate, we deliver local reach to
the world's markets, an unparalleled investment in innovative
analytics, including catastrophe management, actuarial and rating
agency advisory. Through our professionals' expertise and
experience, we advise clients in making optimal capital choices
that will empower results and improve operational effectiveness for
their business. With more than 80 offices in 50 countries, our
worldwide client base has access to the broadest portfolio of
integrated capital solutions and services. To learn how Aon
Benfield helps empower results, please visit aonbenfield.com.
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk
management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human
resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than
62,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for
clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and
people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and
technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's
best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary,
captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by
multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information
on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global
partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.
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SOURCE Aon plc