Insurers’ models fail to keep pace with rising flood losses

The industry’s flood models rely heavily on data from the 1960s and 1970s when floods in Europe were less common

Catastrophe losses around the world exceeded $70bn in 2007, according to the latest study by Sigma, which is published by the reinsurer Swiss Re. But only some $28bn of these were insured – including over $23bn for natural catastrophes, and in excess of $4bn for man-made disasters.