High insured losses in case of an important earthquake

The association of Japanese life insurers reckons that a serious earthquake occurring along the Nankai depression (east coast of Japan) would trigger losses amounting to 51 billion USD for life insurers. It would claim the lives of as many as 323 000 people. For life insurers, these losses are 25% higher than the ones incurred during the catastrophe that hit Japan in March 2011. These estimates are based on a possible earthquake along the Nankai depression and stretching from the Shizuoka area to the Shikoku and Kyushu regions. The number of human lives lost, according to this scenario, corresponds to the one projected by the authorities last August.