Latin America is bracing for a unique climatic phenomenon that could significantly impact its insurance sector. Experts from the Swiss Re Institute have highlighted the necessity of both adaptation and mitigation to increase resilience against severe weather events prompted by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. This cycle, predicted to shift rapidly between its phases, presents a substantial challenge to the region’s ability to protect itself from the resulting disruptions. The Phenomenon of ENSO El Niño and La Niña Explained The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate pattern that…
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U.S. weather forecasters herald the end of La Nina
La Nina dissipates on schedule this year and is not expected to return The U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has announced that the La Nina weather phenomenon has dissipated on schedule this year, coming to an end in April. The weather pattern has been blamed for creating widespread drought in Texas and troublesome natural disaster in other parts of the U.S. These events have caused serious problems for the country’s insurance industry, which has struggled to overcome the problems created by natural catastrophes from the past two years. The CPC…
Read MoreClimate Prediction Center heralds the return of El Nino this year
Insurance industry on El Nino watch. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a government agency that provides weather information to the insurance industry and others, has raised concerns that El Nino may make a strong return to the Northern Hemisphere later this year. The weather phenomenon is notorious for the number of natural disasters it spawns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. El Nino brings an increase in rainfall and changes to temperature and wind patterns in some parts of the world. The CPC notes that El Nino could have a disastrous…
Read More2012 tornado season could be as active as the now notorious 2011
Last year, the U.S. was subject to an unnaturally active tornado season. The season spawned outbreaks of violent windstorms and powerful tornados that cut a path of destruction through much of the mid and mid-eastern states. Last year saw a total of 1,709 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. While this is well short of the 1,817 that formed in 2004, these tornados were far more destructive and widespread. Indeed, 2011 was one of the most disastrous years in recent history, so much such that the insurance industry was hoping…
Read MoreInsurers wary of disastrous year on the heels of the infamous 2011
A new year has dawned and as celebrations from the holidays die down, insurers turn a wary eye toward a potentially chaotic future. 2011 has gained infamy as one of the worst years in recent history in terms of natural disasters. While some insurance organizations claim the total cost of worldwide catastrophes hovers in the range of $100 billion, Munich Re, a global reinsurance and risk solutions firm, asserts that the real total of global disasters is at $310 billion. Risk modelers have yet to release their predictions regarding the…
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