MONTE CARLO, Monaco,
Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance
intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), today
releases the September 2017 edition
of its Reinsurance Market Outlook report, which assesses the key
drivers of reinsurance supply and demand in the approach to the
January 1 renewals.
The report finds that a significant proportion of the
unprecedented flood losses generated by Hurricane Harvey in
Texas and Louisiana will be uninsured, again
highlighting the existence of a global protection gap. As a result,
those affected will require substantial financial support from
the United States government.
The United States is one of the
most insured countries in the world and yet, in 2016, almost 50
percent of the economic losses sustained from natural disasters
remained unprotected, according to data compiled for Aon Benfield's most recent Annual Global Climate
and Catastrophe Report. Much of the rest of the world remains
chronically under-insured, at a time when the frequency of severe
weather events is increasing.
Meanwhile, the first half of 2017 saw a renewed surge of capital
into the reinsurance sector, raising the total capital available to
a record level of USD605bn at
June 30, 2017, according to
Aon Benfield figures.
Eric Andersen, Chief Executive
Officer of Aon Benfield, said:
"Hurricane Harvey has had devastating consequences and
unfortunately many of the losses are uninsured, leaving
the United States government, and
therefore taxpayers, to pick up most of the bill. At the same time,
we have an 'over-capitalized' reinsurance industry and new
investors actively seeking access to diversified insurance risk.
The frequency of severe weather-related losses is increasing and
there needs to be a significant step-up in the efforts made to
address the protection gap evident globally."
The Reinsurance Market Outlook report reveals that major
reinsurers continued to produce solid results in the first half of
2017, driven by a relatively benign loss environment and stabilized
investment returns. It also highlights the competitive impact of a
surge in alternative capital at the mid-year renewals.
Based on preliminary figures, and prior to the impact of
Hurricane Harvey, insured losses for the first eight months of 2017
totaled USD24.5bn, representing 56
percent of the 10-year average for the period. The reinsured
component of these losses was low, given that a high proportion
related to localized severe weather events in the United States.
The Reinsurance Market Outlook – September 2017 report is available
at http://aon.io/rmo-2017
Further information
Aon Benfield PR team: Andrew Wragg (+44 207 522 8183 / 07595
217168) David Bogg or Alexandra Lewis
Follow Aon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aon_plc
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alerts: http://aon.mediaroom.com
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services
firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health
solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results
for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver
insights that reduce volatility and improve
performance.
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SOURCE Aon plc