--- title: What Cat Underwriters Need to Know from 2015, for 2016. description: From flood, hail, wildfire, and more, AM Best's annual World Catastrophes for 2015 report offers a lot of information for underwrtiers. But, they should pay attention with caution. --- [![InsitePro Logo](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/InsiteProGlobe-with-text-web-2.png?width=500&name=InsiteProGlobe-with-text-web-2.png "InsitePro Logo")](https://www.goinsitepro.com/) [![InsitePro Logo](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/insitepro_2018/images/InsitePro4%20(1).png?width=500&name=InsitePro4%20(1).png "InsitePro Logo")](https://www.goinsitepro.com/) [Contact Us](http://www-goinsitepro-com.sandbox.hs-sites.com/contact-us) | [+1 877-837-7246](tel:+1%20877-837-7246) - [Why InsitePro](https://www.goinsitepro.com/why-insitepro) - [Flood](https://www.goinsitepro.com/flood-insurance) - [Wildfire](https://www.goinsitepro.com/wildfire-insurance) - [Retail Agents](https://www.goinsitepro.com/retail-agents) - [About](https://www.goinsitepro.com/about-intermap) - [Blog](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog) ## What Cat Underwriters Need to Know from 2015, for 2016. Posted at Jun 29, 2016 12:46:00 PM by [Ivan P. Maddox](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/author/ivan-p-maddox) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) AM Best has published their annual look at [World Catastrophes for 2015](http://email.ambest.com/t/16556/15360256/2036/6/) (mind the subscription wall). The main three overall takeaways from 2015 are: 1. The largest cat loss of the year was man-made. The [explosion in Tanjian, China](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/tianjin-explosion-china-sets-final-death-toll-at-173-ending-search-for-survivors), caused more insured losses than any natural catastrophe last year, and was the third costliest man-made disaster for insurers in history. 2. Overall, it was another quiet year for cat losses. See Graphic 1 for an historical look. 3. The Protection Gap was huge enormous gigantic, especially in Asia. See Graphic 2 for the gap between total and insured losses. Light green = Gap. **Graphic 1** ![Global_Overview_Catastrophes.jpg](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Risks%20of%20Hazard%20Blog%20Posts/Global_Overview_Catastrophes.jpg?width=540&name=Global_Overview_Catastrophes.jpg "Global_Overview_Catastrophes.jpg") **Graphic 2** ![5_Largest_Natural_Catastrophes.jpg](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Risks%20of%20Hazard%20Blog%20Posts/5_Largest_Natural_Catastrophes.jpg?width=540&name=5_Largest_Natural_Catastrophes.jpg "5_Largest_Natural_Catastrophes.jpg") For underwriters, there are other important facts to know from 2015. Here are the top three: 1. US losses were primarily driven by non-tropical storms. 1. Nine of the 20 largest global insured losses in 2015 were US storms, including flash flooding, tornados, and foremost, winter storms (#2 globally, after Tianjin). 2. Hail was involved in six of those nine events. 3. Caveat Hail! 2. Wildfire is one peril that the past might offer insight on the future. Note: 1. 2015 broke the US record for acres burnt. Graphic 3 shows the seven biggest years have all happened since 2004. 2. The largest total economic loss in 2015 was Indonesian wildfire, with a total loss of ~$4.8B (only $210M of insured loss). 3. Globally, wildfire matched tropical cyclones for insured losses in 2015. 4. The Valley Fire in California was #9 on the global list of insured losses, with $900+M in claims. 5. Caveat Wildfire! Especially considering the start to 2016, including [Fort McMurray](http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/insurance/global-disasters-may-including-fort-mcmurray-wildfire-led-us7-billion-claims-aon-benfield-1004093389/) (more insured losses already than any nat cat in 2015) and the [LA area](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fire-complex-evacuation-conditions-20160622-snap-story.html). 3. Texas led the way with three of those nine big events 1. These three events included tornados, hail, flash floods, and blizzards. 2. Caveat Texas! **Graphic 3** ![56_Year_of_Wildfires.jpg](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Risks%20of%20Hazard%20Blog%20Posts/56_Year_of_Wildfires.jpg?width=540&name=56_Year_of_Wildfires.jpg "56_Year_of_Wildfires.jpg") Underwriters should pay attention to this wealth of information, but with caution. Just because [something hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t](https://www.goinsitepro.com/risks-of-hazard-blog/2015/08/memory-vs-history-underwriting-hurricanes)… and just because something has happened doesn’t mean it’ll happen again soon. Topics: [Wildfire](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/topic/wildfire), [Insurance Protection Gap](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/topic/insurance-protection-gap), [Floods](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/topic/floods), [Natural Catastrophe](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/topic/natural-catastrophe), [Hail](https://www.goinsitepro.com/blog/topic/hail) ### Comment Form ![sidebar-bg](https://www.goinsitepro.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sidebar-bg.jpg?width=280&name=sidebar-bg.jpg "sidebar-bg") # The Risks of Hazard Blog Welcome to The Risks of Hazard, brought to you by Intermap Technology. 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