(Bloomberg) -- The earthquake that struck Nepal caused about $2 billion in economic losses in the country, and only a fraction of the cost will be incurred by insurers, according to Kinetic Analysis Corp.
Damage in India could cost an additional $800 million, according to figures from the disaster-modeling firm that include property damage and long-term business-interruption costs. Less than 1% of the losses are covered by insurance, according to Kinetic’s initial data from the main quake. The estimates exclude costs for immediate needs such as food.
“Most developing countries just don’t really have mature insurance industries,” Chuck Watson, Kinetic Analysis’s director of research and development, said in a telephone interview Monday. “It’s getting by day-to-day. They’re not really concerned with things like insurance.”
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