YANGON, Myanmar--Cyclone Nargis, which ravaged Myanmar over the weekend, is unlikely to have a significant impact on the international insurance market, according to modeling firm Risk Management Solutions.
The cyclone killed more than 20,000 people, according authorities in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
"This event is a massive humanitarian disaster," said Domenico del Re, a senior model manager in the London office of Newark, Calif.-based RMS, in a statement assessing the cyclone's impact. "However, it is a catastrophe that the international insurance industry has escaped."
The insurance industry in Myanmar is small with no international insurance brokers operating in the area and nonlife premiums of barely $5 million in 2004, Mr. del Re said.
"Given the isolation of the country, international investment in Myanmar is also very limited," he said. "The most significant foreign interest in the region is a large gas field in Yadana, which generates millions of cubic feet of gas a day and is close to the path of the cyclone, but it is not yet known whether the production has been interrupted."
For reprints of this story, please contact Lauren Melesio at 212-210-0707 or email lmelesio@crain.com
