Australian catastrophes cost insurers $4.4 bln in 2011
The cost of 2011 catastrophes in Australia has reached 4.35 billion AU dollars (4.4 billion U.S. dollars), the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said on Wednesday.
ICA Chief Executive Rob Whelan said Australia had been struck by several of the biggest catastrophes of recent times, including Queensland floods, Cyclone Yasi, Perth bushfires, Victorian floods and severe storms and West Australian Margaret River bushfires.
He said insurers had received nearly 190,000 claims with a total reserved value of 4.35 billion AU dollars (4.4 billion U.S. dollars).
Releasing the annual figures on Wednesday, Whelan urged federal and state governments to do more to safeguard communities. "Insurance can't stop these catastrophes. It can only help once it's over," he said in a statement. "It's the role of governments to put in place the measures that make our communities safer places in which to live, especially those with a known exposure to risk from events such as flooding, cyclones and bushfires."
Editor: Fang Yang
English.news.cn 2011-12-21 12:42:00
SYDNEY, Dec. 21 (Xinhua)
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