Swiss Re admits Chile earthquake claims will worsen

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The world's second-biggest reinsurer upped its forecast for losses from the quake to $630 million (£428 million) before tax from $500 million (£340 million), adding that the final cost could still change.

Swiss Re also took losses of $220 million (£150 million) in the first quarter from storms in Europe, which hit France particularly badly, and floods in Australia. It considers $1 billion (£680.5 million) in claims as normal for the full year.

Rival Munich Re on Tuesday also upped its loss estimates from the 8.8-magnitude quake to $1 billion from $700 million (£476 million). The tremor on February 27 killed nearly 350 people and was the fifth-strongest since records began in 1900.

The growth outlook for the reinsurance industry in the next decade is moderate but stable, Swiss Re said ahead of its London investor day. The company estimates that the non-life industry will grow on average by 6.5% annually and the life and health industry to grow by 3.7%.

The prices the reinsurance industry can charge primary insurers in premiums to cover their own risks have not increased and are unlikely to do so without another major natural catastrophe, reinsurance executives have said.