Kumamoto insured losses to surpass $4bn

The total pay out for insured losses following the Kumamoto earthquake has now reached JPY317 billion ($3 billion), according to data from the General Insurance Association of Japan.

The data highlights more than 201,000 000 claims have been processed out of almost 240,000 that were filed following the earthquake in April.

The value only represents filed residential claims, which means that business interruption and commercial damage claims have yet to be included.

“Given the significant level of damage and disruption to the economic supply chain, it is entirely expected that combined insurable losses from these two areas will also surpass $1 billion,” said Steve Bowen, director at Aon Benfield.

“Once all claims are filed in the coming months, it is anticipated that the overall insurance impact will almost certainly surpass $4 billion.

Bowen added that the overall economic cost, including damage to infrastructure, agriculture, public facilities and non-insured properties, is substantially higher.

“Japan’s Cabinet Office recently announced that the economic damage resulting from this event would fall in the range of $22 to 42 billion. This highlights that insurance penetration for this part of Japan remains quite low,” he said.

On Twitter, Bowen commented that the Kumamoto earthquake is among the three costliest events of 2016 alongside the Fort McMurray wildfire and the May-June floods throughout Europe.