Synonyms
Assurance; Guarantee; Policy; Protection; Security
Definition
Insurance is a risk management tool that redistributes a disaster risk among a high number of insured individuals or businesses, and enables one to cover large and accidental losses incurred by them.
Overview
Insurance is a key element of a disaster management cycle, especially as part of the last stage of recovery and reconstruction. It allows each individual to transfer the risks they face to an intermediary that mutualizes these risks among a large number of the insured. When a disaster occurs in one area, they obtain a premium to cover their losses. However, insurance systems in different countries face a number of difficulties related to low insurability rates and the growth of insured damages.
According to the German reinsurance company Munich Re, between 2000 and 2008 natural catastrophe losses reached USD 898 billion, of which USD 287.6 billion (32%) were insured. In 2008, an earthquake in Sichuan, China,...
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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Dzialek, J. (2013). Insurance. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_196
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_196
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Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4399-4
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