Global Natural Catastrophe Losses In 2016: Only 30% Were Insured

Natural disasters caused $175 billion worth of damages in 2016, the highest cost associated with natural catastrophes since 2012. German reinsurance giant Munich Re Group added that 30 percent, or $50 billion, of the total losses incurred in the past year was covered by insurance. The Munich company said overall losses were two-thirds more than the total incurred in 2015, with two earthquakes in Japan accounting for the heaviest losses. The April 2016 earthquakes near Japan’s Kumamoto city resulted in overall damages worth $31 billion with uninsured losses amounting to nearly 20 percent of the total.