2016 Disasters: $158B and 10K Lives

How do you measure the cost of disasters? Almost immediately following any event, the media wants to know two things: "How many people died, and how much damage is there in dollars?" Thus, Swiss Re which totals up disasters in the world used the same approach to what the impacts of disasters were in 2016, see Disasters claimed 10,000 lives, cost $158 billion in 2016: Swiss Re. They are also concerned with insured losses from disasters.

I think about the people and how the survivors are impacted by the disaster. They have lost loved ones and many times their homes and livelihoods that sustain their families. Parents have lost children, and children have lost parents. Those losses will not be replaced by insurance, a grant or a loan.

Look at the cost of the Fort McMurray wildfires in Canada earlier in this year. Losses are estimated as the country's costliest disaster ever for insurers — at $3.9 billion on an economic level and $2.8 billion for insurers.

Lastly, there is this quote from the story, ""Society is underinsured against earthquake risk, and the protection gap is a global concern," Swiss Re Chief Economist Kurt Karl said." Which fits exactly with a Seattle Times article on uninsured earthquake risks in Washington state, where I live.

The Recovery Diva shared the Swiss Re link above.