Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist, today announced the publication of Wrong Type of Rain: Impact and Implications of 2007 UK Floods, an in-depth report on the extensive flooding that caused severe damage in north-eastern England in June 2007 and central and south-western England in July 2007. In total, more than 130,000 insurance claims were submitted, with insured losses estimated at over £3bn (US$6.2 billion).
Wrong Type of Rain: Impact and Implications of 2007 UK Floods provides a meteorological summary, detailed event overview and information on insured losses and modeling solutions.
In addition, the report reviews the larger role of the insurance and reinsurance industries and the increasing interest in catastrophe bonds and other Alternative Risk Transfer techniques for managing flood risks. Planned floodplain development in the UK and potential long-term climate change implications are also discussed.
“The summer of 2007 was the wettest season on record, and parts of the UK experienced their worst flooding in 60 years. Flood in the UK is a persistent risk that can potentially cause great levels of damage and disruption,” said Dickie Whitaker, Managing Director of Guy Carpenter.
“In this case, the damage cost was mostly absorbed by the UK insurance industry, with only a relatively small proportion of the losses ceded to reinsurers.”
According to the report, the impact of the 2007 UK flood losses on reinsurance pricing is not expected to be significant, and additional sideways cover is expected to be purchased to absorb the increased frequency arising from higher retentions. In addition, in order to mitigate the possibility of more severe events in the future, interest in catastrophe bonds and other capital market solutions such as index-linked products is expected to increase.
Mr. Whitaker added, “There are more than two million homes currently at risk from coastal or inland flooding in the UK, with plans to build three million new homes by 2020 – including a significant number on known floodplains. Coupled with changing weather patterns and rising property values, this means that the level of flood risk in the UK looks set to increase, highlighting the importance of better managing exposure to flood.”
A full copy of the report is available at www.guycarp.com. Printed copies can be obtained by contacting Guy Carpenter at marketing@guycarp.com.
About Guy Carpenter
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC is the world’s leading risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies. Guy Carpenter creates and executes reinsurance solutions and makes available capital market solutions* for clients worldwide through 2,600 professionals across the globe. The firm’s full breadth of services includes 16 centers of excellence in Accident & Health, Agriculture, Alternative Risk Transfer, Environmental, General Casualty, Investment Banking*, Life & Annuity, Marine & Energy, Professional Liability, Program Manager Solutions, Property, Retrocessional, Structured Risk, Surety, Terror Risk, and Workers Compensation. In addition, Guy Carpenter’s Instrat® unit utilizes industry-leading quantitative skills and modeling tools that optimize the reinsurance decision-making process and help make the firm’s clients more successful. Guy Carpenter’s website address is www.guycarp.com.
* Securities or investments, as applicable, are offered in the United States through GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities Corp., a US registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Main Office: 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036. Phone: (212) 345-5000. Advice on securities or investments in the European Union is provided through GC Securities Ltd., regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of investment business in the United Kingdom. Reinsurance products are placed through qualified affiliates of Guy Carpenter. MMC Securities Corp., GC Securities Ltd. and Guy Carpenter are affiliates owned by Marsh & McLennan Companies.