Disasters Spur Record Losses for Reinsurers

A spate of natural disasters hazards such as the Australian floods, Cyclone Yasi, and the New Zealand and Japanese earthquakes contributed to the costliest quarter in the history of the facultative reinsurance market in terms of loss experience. A new report from Aon Benfield Fac, the facultative reinsurance division of global reinsurance intermediary Aon Benfield, estimates total re/insured losses to tally $52.6 billion for Q1 2011. By way of comparison, losses totaled $40.6 billion for the whole of 2010.