Here are the 10 most expensive disasters to hit insurance companies around the world in the past decade, according to Zurich North America. The list is chronological and based on the number of lives lost, overall business impact, and the geographic scope and duration of the crises.

1- 9/11
Nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 which destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade centre.

Insurance companies had to pay out around $40 billion in insured losses. Around a third of this total covered business interruption claims, while other claims included damage to property and vehicles, life insurance, liability insurance, aviation liability and workers compensation.

2- SARS - 2003
The 2003 global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) started in Guangdong province of China and within weeks spread to 37 countries around the world. There were 8,096 known infected cases of the pneumonia-like disease and 774 confirmed fatalities.

Airlines were forced to ground flights to infected areas, businessmen stayed away and in many areas shops, restaurants and hotels were forced to close due to so little business

3- U.S. / Canada power outage - 2003
The Northeast blackout in 2003 affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario, Canada and 45 million people in eight U.S. states.

Virtually all businesses suffered as a result – flights were grounded, trains were cancelled, traffic lights failed, the internet was down, mobile phone networks broke, factories were forced to shut, restaurants and hotels had to close. Many areas also lost water pressure because pumps didn’t have power.

4- Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami - 2004
The undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Boxing day 2004 resulted in one of the worst tsunamis in history, killing 227, 898 people. Indonesia was the worst affected area, accounting for around 170,000 deaths.


The economic impact of the disaster was also devastating, with countries affected suffering huge losses in the tourism and fishing industries. Insured losses for property were estimated at around $1.3 billion, life and heath at $250 million and travel losses at $50 million.

5- Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma - 2005
The Atlantic hurricane season in 2005 was the worst in history. There were an estimated 3,865 deaths and record damages of around $130 billion.

The economic consequences of the storms were also far reaching, resulting in speculative spikes in the price of crude oil and heavy damage to crops and harvests.

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