Major natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn in 2016
Losses from natural catastrophes reached a four-year high last year, driven by an earthquake in Japan and a wildfire in Canada.
Insured losses arising out of natural catastrophes hit $39.5bn (£31.6bn) last year, which is the highest they've been since 2012, according to Willis Re.
The largest single insured loss in 2016 came from the Kumamoto earthquake in Japan in April with losses exceeding $4.8bn, followed by Canada’s Fort McMurray wildfire in May which caused insured losses of around $3.5bn.
Hurricane Matthew in early October resulted in the largest single insured loss in the United States at $2.3bn; and the combined effects of Windstorms Elvira and Friedrike in Europe in the summer produced losses of approximately $2.48bn.
The 2016 year losses have reversed the trend in loss reductions seen from 2011 to 2015, where insured losses had gone from $120bn to $23bn respectively
“As our report shows, despite natural catastrophe insured losses falling in the last five years to 2016, they are still significant, and lower profile perils such as the wildfire around Fort McMurray have the potential to cause substantial losses," said John Alarcon, director of catastrophe analytics at Willis Re International.
"Importantly, our report also highlights that economic losses continue to be higher than insured losses and substantially so in some regions."
Clearly the insurance industry has a significant role to play in helping economic recovery by supporting resilient societies and closing the protection gap between insured and total economic loss when natural catastrophes occur.