Israel at risk of an earthquake - Lloyd's of London

Israel is at risk of an earthquake, according to Lloyd's of London, the world's largest so-called insurance market.

"Israel is at risk from earthquake," Lloyd's chairman Lord Peter Levene said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post Monday. "Just 10 days ago we were reminded of this when the strongest earthquake in a decade was felt across the country."

The former lord mayor of London is in Israel this week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Lloyd's activity in Israel. Lloyd's insures a wide range of industries in Israeli, including the hi-tech sector, medical and life sciences, industrial sector and the diamond industry.

"In this 60th anniversary year, the interest and appetite we have for doing business in Israel is greater than ever," Levene said. "As more and more Israeli companies are going public, expanding internationally, they need more insurance to cover themselves up. Israel is Lloyd's biggest market in the Middle East. Our business in the country currently totals around $140 million a year, with similar growth expected to continue this year."

"The same catastrophe underwriters who underwrite Israeli earthquake risk are also likely to be underwriting US windstorm with the backing of the same capital," he said. "We can expect the natural catastrophe trend towards greater losses to continue in the near term, while climate change will also impact sea temperatures and make windstorm landfall and more destructive storms likely." More