China, Asia-Pacific lead in uninsured climate disaster losses, highlighting need for better preparedness, Aon says
- China’s uninsured disaster-related losses have averaged around US$54 billion per year since 2000, the highest in the world, Aon says
- The floods that wreaked havoc in China last summer were Asia-Pacific’s most costly disaster
Natural disasters caused the Asia-Pacific region an estimated US$65 billion in economic losses last year, chiefly from last summer’s catastrophic floods in China and drought in India, according to a new report by Aon.
And while the region only accounted for around 17 per cent of global losses overall, it also registered the largest insurance protection gap, with 91 per cent of its disaster-related losses not having any coverage.
This was significantly higher than the global average of 69 per cent, according to a report released on Tuesday by the UK-headquartered professional services firm. Aon found that insured losses for Asia-Pacific totalled only US$6 billion.
“With climate variability we see natural hazards impacting areas that in recent times may have been largely unaffected, meaning these communities are generally underprepared and may not have adequate insurance in place,” said Brad Weir, Aon’s head of analytics for reinsurance solutions for Asia.
“There is a growing need for advanced climate modelling and risk-assessment analytics for better disaster preparedness, and planning to reduce risk, protect lives and promote resilience.”
