Amlin Insurance has joined the growing group of insurers raising their prices, as the flow on effect from last years natural disasters begins to reach customers.
An influx of policy renewals in January teamed with a strong demand for catastrophe reinsurance saw renewal prices rise 4 per cent last month for the company, in comparison with a 1.3 per cent drop the year before.
The increase was driven by its catastrophe reinsurance business, where prices for business written in London and Bermuda rose an average 15.9 percent.
“Unprecedented catastrophe loss activity in 2011 has prompted a notable uplift in reinsurance rates,” Amlin said.
Last year was the second most costly year on record, with the insurance industry absorbing around USD108 billion in claims (£68b). The only year to have ever exceeded this was 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
The company also released a revised update on losses from some recent events.
They estimated that the Thailand Floods at the end of last year would cost the company between £50 and £70 million, net of reinsurance recoveries. The total insured cost of the floods has been estimated at between £8 and £20 billion.
Amlin also said that the grounding of the Costa Concordia is expected to cost in excess of a billion pounds and Amlin will be responsible for less than £10 million of this (net of reinsurance recoveries).
