Disasters cost $71bn in first half of 2016: Swiss Re

From earthquakes in Japan to wildfires in Canada, disasters cost the world economy $71 billion (62 billion euros) in the first half of the year, reinsurer Swiss Re said on Thursday. The global insurance industry covered 44 percent of the disaster-linked losses, or $31 billion, up 51 percent from a year earlier. Three separate severe US weather events cost insurers over $7.0 billion, it said, with a single massive storm in Texas in April raking up insurance costs of $3.1 billion after large hails