MAPFRE estimates Asian typhoon and Chilean cost of up to €140m ($156m)

Spanish insurance company MAPFRE will assume an impact of between €130 million ($144 million) and €140 million ($156 million) in its attributable earnings for the 2019 financial year as a result of the recent typhoons Faxai and Hagibis that occurred in Japan in the months of September and October and additionally, to a lesser amount, the damages produced by the recent disturbances in Chile.

MAPFRE said these events do not have a significant impact on its solvency and capital strength position. For this reason, the MAPFRE board of directors has agreed to propose to the annual general meeting, at the relevant time, to maintain the 2019 dividend at an amount equivalent to that of the 2018 fiscal year.

The typhoons that have shaken the Asian Pacific zone this season have been particularly strong, with Hagibis, which claimed the lives of more than 100 people, being considered the worst typhoon recorded in Japan in the last 70 years. The estimated cost for the insurance sector of both events exceeds 20 billion dollars.

The impact for MAPFRE of €130 million - €140 million will be felt mainly in the reinsurance business and this amount has been calculated using estimates made by the company on the basis of its communications with ceding insurance companies.

This extraordinary increase in costs will lead to a revision of the current Strategic Plan 2019-2021. The result of this analysis will be submitted to the group’s annual general meeting next March.