LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Global insurance losses for
natural catastrophes are projected to reach $112 billion in
2022, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Friday, driven by
the impact of Hurricane Ian which hit Florida earlier this year.
Flood and hail in Europe, Australian floods and severe
storms in the United States also contributed to the total, Guy
Carpenter said in a statement.
Hurricane Ian and other natural catastrophes caused an
estimated $115 billion of insured losses so far this year, well
above the 10-year average of $81 billion, reinsurer Swiss Re
estimated earlier this month.
Reinsurance rates are expected to rise sharply at the key
Jan. 1 renewal date as a result of losses related to Hurricane
Ian and the war in Ukraine, industry sources say.
Ship insurers have excluded Ukraine, Russia and Belarus from
war liability policies as reinsurers scale back their exposure.
Discussions about rates and war exclusions have made
negotiations between insurers and reinsurers tense this year,
industry sources say.
This year’s renewal season was “one of the most challenging.
..the sector has experienced”, Guy Carpenter said, adding that
the process had been “extremely late”.
The projected losses do not include the impact of the most
recent December natural catastrophes, Guy Carpenter added.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Andrew Heavens and
Louise Heavens)
