Catastrophe Losses Set at $34.4 Billion Last Year Says Swiss Re Study

A sigma study by Swiss Re estimates that more than 33,000 people lost their lives as a result of natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2001, and puts the cost to the insurance industry at $34.4 billion.

Over half those losses, an estimated $19 billion from property claims and business interruption, were caused by the Sept. 11 attacks.