Japanese Earthquakes Could Cost Insurers $2.9 Billion: AIR Worldwide

An earthquake that struck southern Japan on April 16 will probably cost insurers as much as 320 billion yen ($2.9 billion), according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide.

The cost might be as low as 180 billion yen, the company said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement.

A series of earthquakes struck a rural part of southern Japan last week, killing more than 50 people and causing widespread damage. More than 1,000 people were injured and over 196,000 evacuated in the Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, according to statements from the local government offices.

The temblor on April 16 was stronger than one that hit Japan’s Kyushu Island two days earlier and was followed by aftershocks that were almost at the top of Japan’s intensity scale.

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