Insurance claims resulting from the Beirut port explosion on August 4, believed to have been caused by 2,750 metric tons of unsafely stored ammonium nitrate, has officially reached $425 million.
Following a meeting between Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Minister of Economy Raoul Nehme and an extensive delegation from the insurance sector, it was determined that applications related to the explosion has reached 2,500.
However, Nehme himself expressed an expectation for that number to fall closer to 10,000.
Similarly, the ultimate industry and economic cost is widely expected to continue to increase.
One recently published report from the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon claimed total losses will fall between $5 billion and $10 billion, with insurance and possibly reinsurance protection expected to cover around 30%, or up to $3 billion of this total.
Recently, officials said the huge explosion is likely to drive economic losses of up to $15 billion, following which reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter estimated that the insured bill for combined hull, cargo and port facility losses from the event should be within $250 million.
The blast, which was large enough to damage buildings several kilometres away, resulted in the deaths of at least 137 people and injured 5,000 more.
Much of the port area has been totally destroyed, with a crater measuring 140 metres in diameter, partial collapse of the grain silos, total collapse of warehouses and ships overturned.
