Catastrophe bill halves in 2013
THE COST to insurers of catastrophes almost halved to about $44bn (£27bn) this year, despite a doubling in deaths caused by events such as Typhoon Haiyan, Swiss Re said yesterday.
Haiyan was the event causing the highest loss of life this year, resulting in the death of more than 7,000 from some of the strongest winds ever recorded when it struck the Philippines in November.
But Swiss Re noted the bill for insurers was likely to be low because few of those affected had cover.