Persistent insurance gap in South-east Asia

FROM Bt

- 

France, rising catastrophe losses are pushing up premiums sharply or even prompting insurers to withdraw from high-risk areas, including those prone to wildfires, floods or hurricanes.

In Australia, insurance premiums have soared in recent years after a series of costly wildfires, floods and cyclones, making insurance unaffordable in some parts of the country. An estimated 70 per cent of businesses are underinsured, according to Howden.

In the US, a lack of coverage is spreading to the rest of the country, according to a study released by US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on what he called a climate change-driven crisis in home owners’ insurance.