The year 2018 has been a tough one for Swiss Re, a renowned reinsurance group based out of Zurich, Switzerland. Environmental hazards and other crisis situations triggered by human error translated to $1.6 billion worth of claims. Nevertheless, the reinsurance company managed to generated revenues of $1.1 billion as of September this year.
A major part of the claims the reinsurance company received were after Typhoon Jebi that struck Japan in the month of September – the most intense typhoon registered in the country in the last quarter century; after Hurricane Florence which caused widespread damage and destruction in the Carolina states in the USA; and after the Carr fire earlier this year. More claims are coming after the recent Hurricane Michael last month.
While many reinsurance companies recorded mild losses between 2012 and 2016, the year 2017 was particularly severe owing to a high incidence of natural disasters. The extent of damage done in the present year has prompted many industry experts to slate 2018 as ‘normal’ in relevant terms.