2017 Set a Record for Losses From Natural Disasters. It Could Get Worse

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/losses-natural-disasters-insurance.html

Source:  By Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times.

Excerpt: Insurers are set to pay out a record $135 billion to cover losses from natural disasters in 2017, the world’s largest reinsurer said Thursday, driven by the costliest hurricane season ever in the United States and widespread flooding in South Asia. Overall losses, including uninsured damage, came to $330 billion, according to the reinsurer, Munich Re of Germany. That tally was second only to 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami in Japan contributed to losses of $354 billion at today’s dollars. ...“Some of the catastrophic events, such as the series of three extremely damaging hurricanes, or the very severe flooding in South Asia after extraordinarily heavy monsoon rains, are giving us a foretaste of what is to come,” Torsten Jeworrek, a Munich Re board member, said in a statement. While it was still difficult to attribute individual weather events to climate change, he said, “our experts expect such extreme weather to occur more often.” ...The devastating wildfire season in California drove insured losses to around $8 billion. And at least five severe thunderstorms across the country, accompanied by tornadoes and hail, caused insured losses of more than $1 billion each. ...Similar volatile weather patters are set to become more frequent as the climate changes, Munich Re said in its news release.... 

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