Europe's losses, down from the previous year, were calculated as slightly more than a tenth of the world total in 2008, largely due to lower storm and flood damages.

In early 2008, Swiss Re said China suffered losses amounting to more than $1.3 billion driven by an unusually cold winter with record amounts of ice and snow and more than $7.8 billion for man-made catastrophes.

Major man-made disasters caused $7.8 billon in losses in 2008, with large-scale industrial fires, explosions and losses in the energy sector at the top of the list. Man-made catastrophes resulted in 5,600 deaths in 2008; shipping and boating accidents as well as bombings and social unrest caused the most casualties.

The company said the extremely high losses in Asia are likely to spur a need for insurance.

Total damages to the economy worldwide in 2008 amounted to $269 billion, said Swiss Re. It attributed almost half this amount to the earthquake that struck China in May, which it said caused costs to the economy of $124 billion, or approximately 3 percent of China's gross domestic product.

Given the rapid development of income and wealth in Asia, Swiss Re said the financial exposures will swiftly rise and are likely to increase a focus on prevention and ex-post disaster management as well as development of insurance as a tool for coping with financial consequences of catastrophes.

In the future, Swiss Re said it expects insurance in Asia will play a more important role, but such development will take time given the high percentage of Asians with low incomes.

The firm called public-private partnerships critical to the development of effective and accessible insurance solutions.

According to the reinsurer, global and regional insurers and reinsurers play an essential part in the further establishment of insurance in Asia, by sharing their knowledge and expertise and by helping to absorb the area's rising risks.