The 11 September terrorist attacks on the US took this year's global disaster losses to more than $115bn (£79.3bn), of which $32bn (£22.1bn) will be borne by the insurance industry, Swiss Re's latest sigma study has said.
The study showed that worldwide 33,000 lives had been lost from man-made and natural catastrophes. However, most of those deaths were sustained in an earthquake in India.
It estimated that the 11 September attacks made up the bulk of 2001's losses, at $90bn (£62.1bn). Of those losses, $19bn (£13.1bn) were property and business interruption losses.
The attacks on the US made 2001 the third-largest year for insurance losses since Swiss Re started keeping records in 1970.
The company, whose annual studies calculate both the insured and the total economic losses, said: "At over $115bn, the economic losses are more than three times the average for the 1990s."
It added that 11 September represented easily the single largest insurance loss for a manmade disaster.
The next most expensive was the explosion on the Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea in 1988, which cost insurance companies $3bn (£2.1bn) at 2001 prices.
Hurricane Andrew caused the biggest ever insurance loss in 1992. It cost the insurance industry $20.2bn (£13.9bn) at today's prices.
