Zurich has unveiled its list of the “Top Ten Megadisasters” of the past decade. The usual suspects pretty much (listed chronologically — not by their “overall business impact,” which is the basis for the list).
1. 9/11 – 2001
2. SARS – 2003
3. 2003 U.S. / Canada power outage – 2003
4. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami – 2004
5. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma – 2005
6. Financial crisis – 2008
7. China earthquake – 2008
8. H1N1 pandemic – 2009
9. Iceland volcano – 2010
10. Floods in Europe and Pakistan – 2010
I have to admit, I would have probably completely forgotten the 2003 blackout if I was playing Family Feud and had to come up with all 10 — and I even wrote a cover story for Risk Management magazine about it.
Obviously, catastrophes that weren’t included like the Haiti earthquake, Cyclone Nargis and Bam earthquake were horrific tragedies, but the insurance penetration in those areas is so minimal that the ghastly human tolls did not have a large affect on the industry.
Let’s all dearly hope that the next decade is tamer.
Ninth Ward. New Orleans. Post-Katrina.