Insurance companies may take years to count cost of disaster

[lovuian]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=596141

Insurance companies may take years to count cost of disaster
By Stephen Foley
27 December 2004


The economic cost of the tsunamis across south-east Asia will be counted in billions of dollars, but the insurance industry warned yesterday that the final bill will take months, if not years, to calculate.

The timing of the disaster could not have been worse for the global insurers, who were congratulating themselves on having escaped relatively unscathed from the American hurricane season and on making close to record profits across the industry for the year as a whole. The industry says that it is too early to guess whether the economic cost of the disaster will outstrip that of any of the hurricanes, with some hoping that the developing nation status of the affected countries will mean lower pay-outs.

Although the human toll of yesterday's disaster was incomparably worse, the cheaper cost of living and lower labour costs will mean that the value of lost business is lower and rebuilding costs more modest. In addition, relatively few people in the affected areas will have life insurance cover.

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[Streetdoc270]

1. Well I'm releived

I'm glad that poor people were affected so the insurance companies can keep some of their mega profits. :mad::mad:

[Turley]

6. So what's the problem?

Should we ban insurance companies? Should they not be allowed to make profit? Maybe we should direct Mother Nature to only send storms to areas with high coverage? Or maybe we should force insurers to give away free coverage to everyone in the Developing World?

What's your point anyway? Can't stand the fact that someone made money?

[Streetdoc270]

7. The problem is with 'record profit'

There is nothing wrong with making money and insurance is a necessary evil. Its the fact that all the big industries squeeze the worlds poor by raising their prices in the face of record profits. You can't tell me that your insurance premiums going up while the agency is making a record profit does not anger you. Plus the fact that the article makes it sound like the companies are glad that poor under-developed areas were hit so that they get to keep their gains.

Thats my point, Greed is bad.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. It all comes down to money, doesn't it?

Insurance companies are among the lowest order of bloodsuckers out there.

[Turley]

5. Then don't buy insurance

After all, why should you give your money to bloodsuckers?

[NYC]

3. Record profits.

...The timing of the disaster could not have been worse for the global insurers, who were congratulating themselves on having escaped relatively unscathed from the American hurricane season and on making close to record profits across the industry for the year as a whole...

How is it the timing could not have been worse? Is it chipping into their record profits? Wouldn't the timing be worse if they didn't have record profits to use for some payouts now?

Curse those earthquake victims for dipping into record profits.

[Name removed]

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