Natural-Disaster Insurance Gap Now Exceeds $420 Billion Globally

The value of uninsured natural-catastrophe losses rose more than 7% globally last year to $424 billion, with North America the most exposed region, according to a fresh analysis.

While insurance coverage has broadly kept pace with rising catastrophe exposure, the protection gap — in absolute terms — has gone up as the value of exposed assets has grown, the Swiss Re Institute said on Wednesday.

The cost of natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and wildfires has continued to rise in recent years, as a combination of climate change, urbanization and inflation mean disasters are getting more costly when they hit. ...