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WORLD On Saturday April 25, 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Thousands of people were killed and many more injured. Aftershocks from the earthquake could persist for years according to  geologists . Only a small fraction of the economic losses are covered by insurance. Operating in one of the world’s poorest nations, Nepal’s insurers collected $102 million in premiums for non-life coverages in 2013, according to Axco Insurance Information Services. The deadliest earthquake in 2014 resulted from a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that hit Wenping in the Yunnan Province of China in August, with 731 people killed or missing. Economic losses totaled $5 billion, according to Swiss Re. There were a total of 15 catastrophic earthquakes in 2014, one of them in the United States, in South Napa, California. Insured losses from earthquakes and tsunamis were $313 million in 2014, higher than the $45 million in insured losses resulting from earthquakes in 2012 but far below 2011’s record

($ millions)       Losses when occurred   Rank Date Location Overall Insured Fatalities 1 Jan. 12, 2010 Haiti: South: Port-au-Prince, Petionville, Jacmel, Carrefour, Leogane, Petit Goave, Gressier $8,000 $200 222,570 2 Dec. 26, 2004 Sri Lanka; Indonesia; Thailand; India; Bangladesh; Myanmar; Maldives; Malaysia. Includes tsunami. (2) 10,000 1,000 220,000 3 Oct. 8, 2005 Pakistan; India; Afghanistan 5,200 5 88,000 4 May 12, 2008 China: Sichuan, Mianyang, Beichuan, Wenchuan, Shifang, Chengdu, Guangyuan, Ngawa, Ya'an 85,000 300 84,000 5 Jun. 20-21, 1990 Iran, Islamic Republic of: Caspian Sea, Gilan province, Manjil, Rudbar; Zanjan, Safid, Qazvin 7,100 100 40,000 6 Dec. 26, 2003 Iran, Islamic Republic of: Bam 500 19 26,200 7 Dec. 7, 1988 Armenia: Spitak, Kirowakan, Leninakan, Stepanavan; Turkey 14,000 NA 25,000 8 Aug. 17, 1999 Turkey: Izmit, Istanbul, Golcuk, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Yalova 12,000 600 17,118 9 Mar. 3, 2011 Japan: Honshu, Aomori, Tohoku; Miyagi, Sendai

JUNE 2015 UP FRONT The U.S. has about 20,000 earthquakes a year, mostly small, and 42 states are at risk of quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Global  losses from earthquakes were about $313 million in 2014, higher than 2013 losses of $45 million but far below 2011’s $54 billion, the highest amount ever recorded, according to Swiss Re. The California Earthquake Authority, the state-run entity that is the largest provider of earthquake insurance in the U.S., has some 800,000 policies in force in the state. Only about 10 percent of Californians purchase earthquake coverage, according to the California Insurance Department. Earthquake insurance is generally not included in standard homeowners insurance policies. THE TOPIC An earthquake is a sudden and rapid shaking of the earth caused by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the earth’s surface. This shaking can sometimes trigger landslides, avalanches, flash floods, fires and tsunamis. Unlike