Insured losses arising from the Thai floods could be in double-digit billions, a senior official from global insurer Allianz said, in a disaster that will lead to a re-assessment of weather risks to industry in Asia and to global supply chains.
Calculating the true cost of the floods could take years in terms of working out the lost business to Thailand from investors who might now choose to invest in other countries, said Lutz Fullgraf, Allianz's regional CEO for global corporate and specialty.
He said the losses comprise compensation to building owners in Thailand as well as manufacturers around the world who have suffered disruptions arising from the closure of Thai factories.
"This for Thailand is definitely the costliest event, in terms of the insured values, even if you take into consideration the tsunami of 2004 and last year's riots. The loss here is much bigger," said Lutz. He pointed to an estimate by Thailand's insurance commissioner of more than $30 billion, although it was too early to verify the figure.
"People did not have that (wealth and asset) accumulation expectation for risks in Thailand. Even if it is $20 billion, I think it will top the list of insured flood losses over the past 10 years," he said in an interview in Singapore.
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