Refinery fire in Siberia has been the most costly event so far in 2014

The top 20 non-natural catastrophes cost the insurance industry as much as $8.1bn during 2013, according to research by Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty.

And the marine industry is the biggest cause of loss for insurers.

Over the four years from 2009 to 2013, marine claims accounted for 26% of the value of all claims over €100,000 (£77,000) and 45% of the volume of those claims (see chart, below).

Claims by sector

Claims.png

The most costly type of claim for marine insurance was ship groundings, which was responsible for 50% of the total value of marine claims over the period.

However, the most expensive average claim came from the energy sector, with the average claim costing €20.8m compared with a sector-wide average of just €1.9m (see below).

RiskAverage claim value
Energy€20.8m
Aviation€5.3m
Financial lines€2.5m
Property€2.2m
Average€1.9m
Engineering€1.2m
Liability€1.2m
Marine€1.1m

So far in 2014, 80% of the 10 largest claims have been aviation incidents and fire claims.

A fire at a refinery in Siberia is the single largest claim of the year to date, costing insurers $800m.

Top 10 major non-natural catastrophe losses for 2014

  • Biomass power station fire – Shropshire, UK: $230m (£140m)
  • Chemical complex fire – Texas, USA: TBC
  • Air Algerie AH5017 airliner crash – Mali: TBC
  • Refinery fire – Mendoza, Argentina: $180m
  • Malaysia Airlines MH17 airliner crash – Ukraine: TBC
  • Refinery fire – Siberia, Russia: $800m
  • Sewol ferry sinking – South Korea: $140m
  • Satellite loss – Kazakhstan: $217m
  • Aircraft damage from fighting – Tripoli Airport, Libya: up to $750m
  • Malaysia Airlines M370 airliner disappearance – Indian Ocean: TBC

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