Earthquakes in Asia and Italy, flooding in the United States, Asia and Europe, a deadly hurricane along with wildfires in Canada, made 2016 the costliest 12 months for natural catastrophe losses in the last four years, according to reinsurer Munich Re.

Losses totaled $175 billion, a good two-thirds more than in the previous year, and nearly as high as the figure for 2012 ($180 billion).

The share of uninsured losses — the so-called protection or insurance gap — remained substantial at around 70 percent. Almost 30 percent of the losses, some $50 billion, were insured.

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Jayleen R. Heft

Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].