International insurers to absorb more of the hit in Chile than in Haiti: Insurance Information Institute

Reinsurers could bear upwards of three-quarters of insured losses from the Chilean earthquake, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).Early estimates by AIR Worldwide place insured losses at more than $2 billion.Many large international insurers and reinsurers compete for business in Chile, in addition to Chilean insurers. Reports note the maturity of the insurance market in Chile means insurers will bear much more responsibility for rebuilding in the wake of the Chilean earthquake than in the reconstruction of Haiti’s infrastructure.Chile has a markedly different market from Haiti, which has almost no private insurance market, the IIC points out. Direct premiums written in Chile in 2008 totaled $5.8 billion, with $2.3 billion accounting for non-life, according to Swiss Re. By contrast, in Haiti, estimated total non-life premium income written in 2008 was $19 million, the IIC reports.