The global insurance protection gap for health, mortality and natural catastrophe risks has reached a new high of $US1.4 trillion ($1.8 trillion) amid the pandemic crisis, Swiss Re says.

Health accounted for $US747 billion ($971 billion) of the total estimate for last year, mortality $US408 billion ($530 billion) and natural catastrophes $US231 billion ($300 billion).

For natural catastrophe risk by country, the populations of Denmark, France, New Zealand, Australia and the UK are most protected, while emerging Asia-Pacific countries are most exposed.

Swiss Re says natural catastrophe resilience overall remains low with 76% of global exposures unprotected, based on the key perils of storms, earthquakes and floods.

Group Chief Economist Jerome Haegeli says closing the insurance protection gap would support long-term economic stability and increase society’s capacity to absorb shocks.

“Making insurance more widely available and affordable will be essential, but re/insurers and leaders in business and government must make resilience a shared priority,” he said.

Global insurance resilience is expected to strengthen this year, underpinned by rising risk awareness, with the COVID-19 experience highlighting the importance of protection covers.

Swiss Re Institute’s Resilience Index shows COVID-19 reduced global macroeconomic resilience by close to a fifth last year as stimulus packages cushioned the blow of the pandemic while depleting fiscal and monetary policy headroom.

Macroeconomic resilience is forecast to strengthen this year, mostly driven by recovery in advanced nations, but Swiss Re doesn’t expect a return yet to pre-pandemic levels.

“The global pandemic has accentuated the gap between the rich and poor. It has laid bare the need for governments to focus on rebuilding and promoting social cohesion,” Dr Haegeli said. “Social equity, and at its heart, creating equal opportunities for all, will be a defining feature of a more resilient world.”