Zurich — Insured losses from disasters rose 42% to $54bn last year, according to Swiss Re. This is the highest since 2012 and the equivalent of 0.07% of global GDP. Floods in Europe, the US and China; earthquakes in New Zealand, Ecuador and Japan; wildfires in Canada; and hailstorms in the US caused the most severe economic damages the Zurich-based insurer said in its Sigma study on Tuesday. Weather-related catastrophes consistently cause the highest amount of annual insured losses worldwide. Six in 10 catastrophes last year were caused by nature, accounting for almost 95% of economic disaster losses. The number of natural catastrophes have topped man-made ones for the past seven years. Economic losses totaled $175bn, with less than a third insured, Swiss Re said. That leaves a so-called insurance protection gap of about $121bn — the widest since 2011. Hurricane Matthew and the earthquake in Ecuador claimed most of the 11,000 lives lost in 2016 due to catastrophes, one of the lowest...
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