Chile
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Material Information

Title:
Chile one year on
Creator:
Aon Benfield
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publisher:
Aon Benfield
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2011
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Chile Earthquake, Chile, 2010 (February 27) ( lcsh )
Natural hazards and disasters -- Earthquakes -- Chile ( lcsh )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
South America -- Chile

Notes

Summary:
This document examines the status of the reinsurance market in Chile following the 27 February 2010 Maule earthquake. It aims at raising awareness about seismic risk, while also outlining lessons garnered by the insurance industry from experiences responding to the earthquake. The report begins with a basic seismological description of the Maule earthquake (4-6). As a magnitude 8.8 quake, it is the fifth largest in the world since 1950, with one of those also occurring in Chile in 1960. This disaster is expected to result in 8.5 billion in insured losses, making it the most costly since the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. It is critical to note that insurance take-up in Chile is amongst the highest in the region, particularly amongst the country’s largest industrial and commercial enterprises. Thus, despite the magnitude of losses experienced in the 2010 Chile earthquake: (i) no insurance companies faced bankruptcy; (ii) there were few coverage issues outside of those with the largest risks; (iii) more than 95 percent of residential and 80 percent of commercial losses were paid after the event; (iv) reinsurers met their obligations; and (v) contingency plans were handled within hours of the earthquake. In terms of challenges, the study notes issues related to misunderstandings regarding catastrophe deductibles by those with personal lines of insurance, delays in claims settlements due to the massive quantity of claims, confusion regarding concurrent policies, and misconstructions stemming from a lack of standardized mortgage policies (p.8). Overall, the author argues that the reinsurance system in Chile worked well in the aftermath of the Maule earthquake though some areas of further progress remain. At the end of the study, three steps are suggested for improving the reinsurance industry for future responses to such disasters: more efficient catastrophe models, improved exposure data, and more research on the tsunami risks facing the country. ( English,English )
Subject:
Cost-Benefit and DRR
Citation/Reference:
(2011). Chile: one year on. Aon Benfield.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042169

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Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction