Global reinsurance capacity is at near-record levels and reinsurers are increasing their appetite for Asia-Pacific catastrophe risk despite the trauma of last year, according to Guy Carpenter’s latest Asia-Pacific catastrophe report.

In the benign first half of the year, reinsurers in the Guy Carpenter Global Reinsurance Composite index grew their aggregate capital position by $US10 billion ($9.61 billion).

The Japan and New Zealand earthquakes and the Thai floods of last year contributed to regional catastrophe losses of $US72 billion ($69.25 billion) and catastrophe treaty losses for the Asia-Pacific averaging 900%, the report says.

But the geographic diversity of most reinsurers means global losses for catastrophe treaty writers in 2011 were closer to 200%.

“Furthermore, reinsurers are diversified across product lines and overall were able to shrug off the loss effects of 2011 and still grow capital in the aggregate for the year, albeit by a small amount,” the report says.

Guy Carpenter estimates “reinsurers’ two-year loss ratio for global catastrophe treaty is around break-even, despite some loss creep on 2011”.

This year has been relatively benign for Australia, with summer rains in NSW and Queensland damaging 1000 properties and causing insured losses of $125 million.

March rains in NSW and Victoria caused losses of $108 million. These events followed the devastating south Queensland floods of last year, which caused insured losses of $2.38 billion, and Cyclone Yasi, at $1.45 billion.

The September 2010 and February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes caused $NZ22.1 billion ($17.57 billion) of damage and killed 185 people, putting them among the top five most expensive earthquakes for insurers in history.

Last year’s Australasian disasters pushed up catastrophe reinsurance costs in January and June of this year.

The Japan earthquakes caused $US210 billion ($201.99 billion) of economic losses and more than $US35 billion ($33.66 billion) in insured losses.

The Thai floods, which caused multibillion-dollar damage and killed 800 people, showed the lack of credible modelling for global supply chain disruption when large factories are inundated.