LATIN AMERICA
Peru declared a 90-day state of emergency on Sept. 24 in the Peruvian Amazon communities of Cuninico and Urarinas after a recent oil spill in nearby rivers.
Around 5,600 tire industry workers went on a strike in Argentina, forcing tire manufacturers, including Bridgestone Corp. and Pirelli & C. SpA, to suspending production,
According to U.S.-based A.M. Best Co. Inc., business interruption claims are expected to drive insured and reinsured losses from Hurricane Fiona higher as companies struggle to restart operations in the wake of the massive storm.
The U.S. Geological Survey said that a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Mexican state of Michoacan on Sept. 22, causing landslides and damaging buildings, NPR reported citing The Associated Press. This quake.
Argentina's largest oil and gas industry workers union launched an indefinite strike on Sept. 23 following an explosion at the Argentine company New American Oil SAs refinery in Neuquen province that killed three workers.
Chuck Watson of disaster modeling firm Enki Research expects Hurricane Fiona to inflict around $4 billion worth of damage in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, as the strong hurricane threatens the Caribbean islands with catastrophic floods and mudslides.
A part of the Brazilian container company Multiteiner Com Loc de Conteineres Ltda.s warehouse near Sao Paulo collapsed on Sept. 20, killing at least nine people, and injuring over 30 others.
Brazilian low-cost airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA has agreed to settle its bribery charges by paying a total of $41.5 million in penalties to U.S. and Brazilian authorities.
The Sindicato dos Metalurgicos do Grande ABC labor union in Brazil said that workers at carmaker Mercedes-Benz Group AGs local arm have gone on strike after the unit announced plans to lay off 3,600 employees.
Brazilian miner Samarco Mineracao SA and its co-owners Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd. have reportedly agreed to offer more than 100 billion Brazilian real ($19 billion) in compensation for the 2015 Fundao dam collapse an amount which is almost double the previous offer of BRL52 billion.
A Peruvian judge has accepted the $4.5 billion lawsuit brought against Spanish oil firm Repsol SA for a major oil spill that was caused by a tanker ship in January while it was unloading oil at Repsol-owned La Pampilla refinery.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck some 14 miles southeast of the city of Rancagua in Chile on Aug. 17.
Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that beer production in northern Mexico will cease as the region reels from historic water shortages due to drought.
A report by U.K.-based Chaucer Insurance Group PLC found that social unrest in Latin American nations, especially Colombia and Argentina, surged over the last year, as inflation worsened in these countries already suffering from economic and social tensions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Caribbean and Central American governments have renewed their parametric insurance with Cayman Islands-based Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility SPC for $1.2 billion, which is 10% higher than the coverage for previous policy year.
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake jolted western Mexico on Sept. 19, prompting the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami warning.
U.S.-based automaker General Motors Co. has suspended production at its factory in Silao, Mexico, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 due to supply chain disruptions and resulting shortage of parts.
Hurricane Fiona caused floods and widespread power outages across Puerto Rico as it pummeled the island nation on Sept. 18, and is now threatening to make landfall in Bermuda as a Category-3 or higher hurricane later this week.
Brazil-based insurer BB Seguridade Participacoes SAs net profit jumped almost 87% year-on-year to 1.4 billion Brazilian reais ($271 million) in the second quarter of the year, driven by strong growth growth in new business and net investment income.
Brazil-based reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SAs underwriting loss widened 96% year-on-year to 661 million Brazilian reais ($129 million) in the second quarter of the year due to losses in its agriculture insurance business driven by drought.
Mexico renewed its 5 billion Mexican pesos ($248 million) traditional catastrophe insurance for 2023, indicating its intent to continue the use of private insurance and reinsurance capital for recovery and reconstruction after a natural disaster strikes.
A report by U.S.-based A.M. Best Co. Inc. showed that Caribbean insurers continue to navigate economic headwinds and market volatility while remaining highly exposed to cyber risks, climate change and reinsurance market hardening.
According to A.M. Best Co. Inc., Chiles insurance industry will continue to grow with property and casualty premiums increasing 9.6% in 2021.