According to the insurer’s statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the damages caused by the typhoon have “not led to a material impact on the company’s financial situation.”
Union Insurance said it has been “paying high attention to those engineering insurance, vehicle insurance, health and injury insurance, as well as fire insurance underwritten by the company in the flooding and typhoon-affected regions.”
The insurer said for those who have purchased typhoon and flood insurance from the company will attain insurance indemnity.
Union Insurance added that since it has achieved natural catastrophe insurance risk diversifications mainly through reinsurance arrangements, the company’s financial situation will not see a significant impact.
Another Taiwan-listed property insurer, First Insurance Co. Ltd., said damages caused by Morakot will not constitute an impact on the company’s financial situation.
As of Aug. 10, First Insurance noted four insurance claims reported from commercial fire policies, with estimated claim payment of NT$3 million. Another four insurance claims were reported from accident policies, with estimated payment of NT$2.5 million.
The insurer also recorded an insurance claim from a goods transporting policy, with estimated payment of US$30,000.
Taiwan Life Insurance Co. also said the typhoon has not caused any significant impact on the company’s financial situation.
Central Re, the sole reinsurer in Taiwan, said in a statement filed with the stock exchange that the actual insurance loss payment is still being calculated as its reinsurance business-related insurance company partners are still in the process of collecting relevant figures.
Central Re said it also has reinsurance transfer arrangements with foreign reinsurers, who will share part of the Taiwanese reinsurer’s business risks. In view of that, the reinsurer said Morakot should not lead to a significant impact on Central Re’s financial situation.
Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide said that Typhoon Morakot did not intensify before landfall overnight on Aug. 7 as expected, but heavy rains and winds hit Taiwan.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Morakot had maximum sustained winds of 148 kilometers per hour (90 mph) with gusts of 185 kph (115 mph).
The Central Weather Bureau in Taiwan warned residents of flooding and mudslides on Aug. 7, as it said Morakot was expected to bring up to 1,200 millimeters (47 inches) of rainfall and strong winds over the next couple of days.
Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. said on Aug. 7 that the outer bands of the storm were already pounding Taiwan, with tropical-storm force winds and heavy rain affecting all parts of Taiwan.
According to the broker, at least 14 people were reported killed by the typhoon in Taiwan amid some of the worst flooding the country as seen in 50 years.
Guy Carpenter added that about 220 flights were cancelled in the southern Japanese island prefectures of Okinawa and Kagoshima as the typhoon moved through the region, affection around 40,000 passengers.
After hitting Taiwan, Morakot crossed the Taiwan Strait and made landfall in the Chinese province of Fujian on Aug. 9 as a tropical storm, hitting cities in the region with heavy rain and winds of up to 50 mph, Guy Carpenter reported. The broker Reports said about 1 million people were evacuated from coastal areas in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and 35,000 fishing vessels were recalled to port. Zhejiang officials reported that around 2,000 homes were destroyed.
More than 3.4 million people in Zhejiang suffered property losses as hundreds of villages were flooded and more than 1,800 houses collapsed, according to the Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said Guy Carpenter. Government officials expect the typhoon to cause more than 8.5 million yuan (US$1.2 billion) in damages, reports said.
Source : Hong Kong news editor
