Lloyd’s of London facing £2.4bn of insurance claims
Recent natural disasters may cost Lloyd’s of London about £2.4bn, the insurance market says.
Claims from the Japanese earthquake are estimated at £1.22bn, while the New Zealand earthquake and flooding in Australia are put at £750m and £406m.
The impact of the recent tornadoes in the US has yet to be assessed, but Lloyd’s said that all the disasters will mean insurance rates rising.
Lloyd’s said that its financial health meant meeting claims was not an issue.
Chief executive Richard Ward said: “The Lloyd’s market is as well capitalised as it has ever been and, while claims from all three events could still evolve over time, the market’s total exposure is well within the worst case scenarios we model and prepare for.”
He added: “We expect to see a firming of rate as a result of this first quarter and the recent tornadoes in the United States.”
Last month, Lloyd’s reported pre-tax profits of $3.5bn for 2010, down more than 40% on 2009.
I’ll be holding a Balloon Race on 4th June 2011 to raise money for St Thomas Lupus Trust.
Entries cost just £1.50 each. The balloon that travels the furthest and has it’s card returned to me by the finder by 25th June 2011 will win the owner a cool £100.
I’ll be releasing the balloons from Hitchin Market Square between 10am and 3pm so if you are in the area and want to have a go please drop by and see me.
If you want to enter “online” deposit the £1.50 onto my JustGiving page
www.justgiving.com/John-Gardner2
and email your name and address to
enquiries@nortoncommercial.co.uk
I’d like to thank Marion from Hawthorn Software for donating the £100 prize. Please visit her firms website for information on what they do
Here’s what happened in May 1991. You can click on the links to go to Wikipedia for fuller details
- May 4 – Sweden wins the 36th Eurovision Song Contest.
- May 15 – Édith Cresson becomes France‘s first female premier.
- May 16 – Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.
- May 18 – Somaliland withdraws from Somalia.
- May 21
- In Sriperumbudur, India, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated at a public meeting in Sriperumbudur, by suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam; many others are killed in the explosion.
- Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
- May 24 – Authorised by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Operation Solomon commences.
- May 26 – In Thailand, a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes near Bangkok, killing all 223 people on board.
