Insured damage arising from Thailand flooding reaches between $15 billion and $20 billion: A.M. Best

Two typhoons and unusually heavy monsoon rains in Thailand since July 2011 have caused estimated insured damage of between $10 billion and $20 billion, with a significant portion of that related to business interruption losses, according to a Nov. 23 A.M. Best briefing on the Thai flooding.”More than US$4 billion in insurance claims have already been filed, mostly by businesses located in the submerged industrial complexes,” states the Nov. 23 A.M. Best briefing. “The majority of the multinational firms in Thailand either buy coverage from foreign insurers or self-insure through captive insurance operations. Japanese insurers write most of the commercial property/casualty (P/C) business in Thailand.”Since only 1% of household residential properties in Thailand have flood insurance coverage, losses related to this event will come almost entirely from the impact to manufacturing and supply chains, A.M. Best notes, with some losses stemming from automotive captives as well. “The Industry Ministry now estimates flood damage to the almost 10,000 impacted factories at US$25.6 billion,” the briefing says.