Economic cost of flooding could be $5bn

Fitch Ratings has said that insured losses from the current flooding in Thailand are not likely to strain general insurers.

The firm said that although the flooding is unusually severe, insured losses are likely to be manageable and will not trigger solvency problems for insurers.

The cost of the damage so far is around $4bn (£2.48bn), according to the Bank of Thailand.

Fitch believes the insured loss will be “markedly lower” than this, but it is difficult to estimate the extent of insured losses as the flooding is ongoing.

However, the country’s Office of the Insurance Commission has given a preliminary loss estimate of around $650m (£406.6m) just for damage to industrial estates in the Ayutthaya province.

Another estimate puts the economic cost of the flooding as up to $5bn (£3.12bn), according to a recent Guy Carpenter bulletin.

Many lines of insurance will be affected, including industrial all risk, property, motor and business interruption.