Wildfires and storms push up rates

The Australian fires and windstorms in Europe are pushing up rates for insurers.

Andrew Horton, chief executive of Lloyd’s insurer Beazley, said windstorm Klaus, which battered France and Germany last month and killed 15 people, had cost the industry about £2.2bn.

“Any further losses must add upward pressures to rates,” he said.

It is now thought that about 200 people died in the Australian wildfires. The country’s insurance industry has estimated the bill at A$2bn (£896m).

Meanwhile, Allianz said bad weather in the UK this month had caused a rise in motor claims, with calls doubling from the usual 250 a day.

The industry also faces claims relating to the jet crash that killed 50 people in the USA last week.